


A Warm Blizzard

by kittymsmith



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Magic, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-12 17:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 64,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4488912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittymsmith/pseuds/kittymsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa recieves a letter requesting that she and Anna take Prince Hans on as an unpaid staff member as punishment for his crimes. They, especially Anna, had planned to make Hans's life a nightmare, but when mysterious accidents start happening, the prince that longs to redeem himself might be crucial to saving Arendelle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Letter

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who recognizes this, this story was originally published on Fanfiction.net under the same title. I am the same author who originally published it. I hope you all enjoy the story, and I thank y'all in advance for any kudos and comments. I'll probably post a chapter or two a day, and if you have any questions you can PM me and I'll answer them.  
> Enjoy. :)

Hans only saw his reflection in the white marble floors of the palace he grew up in as he was led to the throne room. The guards on either side of him were people he knew, and he knew them well. They'd watched over him since he was a small child. Now, they led him to his doom. His deserved doom. He'd really screwed up this time. He would be punished to no end. He might be disowned, banished. He wouldn't blame them. He did kinda try to kill the queen and princess of Arendelle. They stopped at the doors. He didn't look up. He heard a slight creek as they opened and was thrust inside. Still he did not look up. He was a coward, manipulating the queen and princess like that. Might as well act like one. He heard steps. Muttering. Then more steps-heavy ones, ascending the stairs to the thrones. Then he saw a pair of sleek black dress shoes.

"Coward. Vile, pathetic, coward."

Hans gulped. The deep throaty baritone of his father had always scared him. He turned his head up to meet the deep blue eyes of the man who he called father. The aged king, who's face creased like an old leather-bound book, frowned, mostly grey hair that was once brown looking dull. "Pathetic." He repeated. Then, without any warning, he slapped Hans. He slapped him so hard the young prince nearly fell to the ground. Instead of this, though, he spun and landed in a bow-legged position, facing six of his brothers. As if practiced, they all rose one fist and pounded it into their other hand. Uh oh.

"Your brothers will tend to your punishment for now." King George growled. "Your mother and I will decide the rest later."

He looked at him and then glanced to his mother. She just looked sad, more than angry. Sad and dissapointed.

"Do you understand your failure, Hans?" King George said. Hans looked at him. He gulped, balling his sweaty palms. "Yes, sir."

She strummed the strings, drawing a delicious tune from the frozen instrument of her own creation. Alone in her room, the young queen played the frozen masterpiece with images of mountains and great pine trees carved into the holding of the strings. She sighed a bit, looking at her music and continuing. She used to spend all her time playing instruments-though, those ones were made of wood, not ice- and now she rarely had the time, what with signing papers and meetings and other such things. As she was strumming, a new sound intruded. It was a knock at the front door.

"Anna!" She called. "Be a dear and get the door."

"ON IT!" She yelled up. Elsa shook her head a bit and stopped strumming. She waved her hand down and the harp disappeared into her frosty floor. Since being able to practice with her powers and sharpening her abilities, she'd made her room a sort of winter wonderland. The walls and floor covered with a crunching frost, a few pieces of furniture crafted from ice and sometimes tinted a magenta or green-a unique little bit of her powers she'd recently mastered- and other such things. It was quite the sight. It also stayed cooler than the rest of the castle at all times-unless Anna, Kristoff, or someone else came in for more than a minute for whatever reason. Then Elsa would let the temperature rise.

"Hi...Anna...Her..."

Elsa stood at the catches of conversation, recognizing the voice of her boyfriend, John. She started walking toward the door, thinking of the rather dashing young messenger boy. He had round glasses and dark hair and eyes that always appealed to Elsa since she met him on one of the first day's she'd taken up her duties as queen nearly a year ago. Just as she exited her room she nearly ran into Anna. Anna blinked and stepped back.

"Heh, sorry sis."

Elsa waved it away and smiled. Anna had her hair down and brushed today. It shined in the light streaming inside from some newly installed windows and flipped up at the end, giving a appealing childish ease look to her. In her hands she held two different letters-one with Elsa's name on it, in John's lacy script, and the other adressed from the Southern Isles-though Elsa barely noticed this.

"Who's that from?" She questioned, gesturing to the letter. Anna nervously handed it to her. "It's, uh, from John."

Elsa looked at the letter before carefully opening it with her nail.

"He said to tell you he's sorry." Anna mumbled before covering her face. A feeling of unease jumped to Elsa's stomach as she opened the letter and began reading.

The tempature in the room began to drop.

"Elsa." Anna said hesitantly-warningly. Attempting to alert Elsa, who paid little attention as her breath became shallow and slow. Frost crept from her fingertips onto the paper, covering the contents.

"...Elsa?" Anna said again, almost squeakily, peeking through the holes of her fingers that covered her face. Elsa completely stopped breathing before taking a startling deep breath.

"John...John broke up with me..."

Anna sighed. She must have guessed that. "I'm sorry Elsa."

Elsa scowled and froze the letter before throwing it on the ground, shattering it. "He broke up with me with a letter!" Elsa was honestly more pissed off about this than being broken up with at all. It wasn't like they'd been together all that long-four months, nice run, but not worth tears. "Who even does that!"

Anna crossed her arms. "John."

"Good Lord!" Elsa threw her hands in the air and stalked off to her room, muttering a string of unpredicted and unladylike curses she surely hoped Anna's innocent ears didn't hear. She flopped down into her chair and huffed, glaring out the window. He wasn't worth tears, but frustration was a different story. Anna followed her with her bunny-like steps and entered her room, drawing a shawl she'd gotten in the habit of carrying with her-usually tied around her waist-since Elsa had made her room the way it was.

"Elsa? Hey, don't look so angry, he's not worth it."

"Anna. Letter. Let. Ter."

"Elsa. Stupid. Boy. Stu. Pid. Boy. He broke up with an awesome girl." She smiled.

"He also broke up with the queen."

"I thought you said you weren't going to bring your position into your relationships, Elsa?"

Elsa looked at her and then grumpily blew a few stray strands of hair out of her face. She had said that when she'd began dating John. It was far from custom-as was a single female ruler- but after seeing Anna with Kristoff, she knew love could come from anywhere. Now, she wasn't love crazy, but she was tired of being alone and wanted all her options open. "Yes." She only said and leaned back in her chair, making note to go and freeze John and his fraid-y cat butt to the docks. She breathed slowly and deeply and turned her head to Anna again. "What is that letter about?"

Anna blinked and handed it to her. "John said he doesn't know anything but that it's from the king."

Elsa nodded and took it, looking over the writing before opening the letter and reading it over, raising her eyebrow as she did so. Anna cocked her head to the side. "What is it about?"

Elsa breathed out frost. This was a way she often let out some form of emotion so that it didn't become destructive or something of the like. "It's a...request from the King of the Southern Isles. He wishes for us to take Hans on as a servant."

"What?! Why?!"

"Well-"

"You know what, I don't care. Send him back a letter saying no."

"Anna-"

Anna put her hands on her hips. "You're actually thinking about it?!"

Elsa breathed calmly. "Yes, Anna."

"You're crazy!"

"I believe we've gone over that on several occasions." She turned back to the letter. "I'm considering it by looking at the advantages."

"What advantages? Letting a psycho who tried to kill both of us into the castle so he may try again? I don't think so!" She snapped her head from side to side sassily, making Elsa have to hold back the urge to laugh.

"No, making this psycho's life terrible. Make him stay up in that tower, no regular work schedule, no pay, the like." She rapped her nails on her desk. "We could both boss him around and he couldn't do anything. And, if he tried, I could just turn him into an ice statue for the front court."

Anna paused, blinking, and then her lips twitched up into a smile that she tried to suppress. She gave in and grinned before putting back on a poker face. "I still think it is a bad idea."

"It couldn't hurt."

"Yes it could."

"Oh hush, Anna."

Anna shook her head, throwing her hands in the air and turning around. "You know what, you're stubborn. Do what you want, queenie-pants." And she left. Elsa sat, staring at a letter a moment before the sentence registered. Queenie-pants? Was she serious? Oh, well. Elsa propped the letter up on the wall her desk leaned against and took out a quill, ice inkpot, and paper. She dipped the quill in the rare cerulean ink and wrote, short and sweet.

Dear King George of the Southern Isles,

I agree to your request. Deliver him by June 1st and no later.

Signed,

Queen Elsa of Arendelle

She looked over it, satisfied, and then lifted the letter. She blew over it, enchanting the ink so it would glimmer like crystal when it was open and make the whole letter cool to the touch. She folded up the letter who's ink was already dried-or rather, frozen?- due to the enchantment and put it in an addressed envelope. She walked down to the front room and put it on a table with any other outgoing mail that would be delivered by one of the staff. She then returned to her room and leaned back in her chair. She stared at a painting on the wall-which was, ironically, a fresh summer scene. Let's see, June was a month away...

"This'll be interesting." She murmured, summoning her harp once more.


	2. A Prince Arrives

Hans sat in the brig. Hunched over, his hands cuffed, the chains attached to the wall. He'd been stripped of his royal attire and now wore a commoners tunic, trousers and boots. A sack containing few other outfits sat beside him. He inhaled deeply, the stench of seawater filling his nose, accompanied by the even less appealing smell of animals. After months of abuse from his brothers and his father-his mother the only one to have any sympathy- his father had declared he was disowned and would be sent to be a servant to Queen Elsa and Princess Anna.

Talk about rubbing salt in a wound.

Though he wasn't banished from the Southern Isles, he might as well have been. He was being condemned to a life of servitude to the very women he'd tried to kill months before. He sighed. If only people would still listen to him; though he couldn't blame them for doing nothing of the sort. Looking back, he wondered if it was all worth it. The emotional trauma he probably caused Elsa and Anna. His ruined reputation and seemingly doomed life.

He wished he'd never let himself be molded into the selfish demon he'd been.

Now, beaten both physically and mentally back to his old self, Hans regretted everything.

"Hey, prisoner."

He jumped and looked up. Before him stood a stiff backed Arendelle palace guard. The man looked down at Hans in disgust, adjusting his purple ascot and tugging at one corner of his royal blue coat that went with pants of the same color and black boots. One of his white gloved hands was around a staff of sorts. "Stand up. I'm unhooking you from the wall. Grab your things, and don't try anything."

Hans only nodded. Using a key, the guard unhooked Hans from the wall. Hans stood and then bent, awkwardly grabbing his bag of clothes. The guard took the chain and tugged him forward, making Hans stumble and nearly fall. He then followed him, looking like the common prisoner with his heavy steps and depressed posture, gripping his wool sack like a lifeline as the still bitter Arendelle air bit at his bare arms. He hated this weather. It'd been similar when he'd come for Elsa's coronation, though, then, he'd been completely covered. He looked around a bit as he was tugged down the gangplank of the ship, down the dock, and through the down. People backed away in fear, others spat at him, and then others cursed him with the worse obscenities possible. This did anger him. He'd taken care of these people when Elsa had cast an eternal winter on the land, and this is how they were thanking him?!

Then again, he was a known criminal.

He just kept his head low as they made their way to the castle. They passed through the open gates. Hans slipped and fell on the ice. The guard, who seemed a master at walking on the ice, simply kept dragging him. Hans shivered and contorted himself various ways to try and get back up. He did not succeed, and ended up banging his head on the castle steps. This was when two different guards helped him up before shoving his shivering, nearly ice burned body forward unsympathetically. They opened the oak doors, leading him into the front room of the castle. Hans observed the crimson Indian made rug and secretly admired some decorations made from ice Elsa must have added; especially the chandelier.

Small, dainty footsteps echoed through the halls. Hans looked up, spotting Anna, dressed in a golden skirt with a brown bodice that had a leaf pattern sewn into it and a white undershirt. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and glared at Hans. He avoided her eyes. She walked over, an air of distaste surrounding her presence.

"This is the prisoner, your highness." Said on the guards, shoving him forward.

"I see." She said spitefully. "Take off the handcuffs. If he tries to flee," he felt her eyes boring into him, "shoot him."

This was defiantly not the Anna he knew. She had a dark side. A very disturbing dark side.

Hans only stood up straighter when his restraints were removed, rubbing his wrists. Anna looked up at him, straight into his eyes, her lips a thin line. "You all are dismissed." She directed the guards. They bowed and left her with Hans. He knew he could easily overpower her and just run out of the castle, but he was too broken to do so. And, being smart, he knew he would just dig a deeper hole for himself. Anna jabbed him in the chest.

"You make one wrong move, you'll be an ice statue in the castle courtyard, you hear me!?" She then shoved him for emphasis. Hans held up his hands.

"I have no intention or ability to harm you or your sister in any way, shape, or form." He said slowly and then brushed back his hairs. "Does saying "I'm sorry" change anything at all?"

"Hmm, lets see...no, no it doesn't, 'cause you're a big, fat, stupid, mean, despicable, sad excuse for a-"

"Anna." Interrupted the regal voice of Elsa, attracting Hans attention. The young queen stood at the top of the stairs in a dress and cape that were exactly like the ones Hans had last seen her in, but tainted purple. Interesting that she could add pigment.

"Your highness." Hans bowed deeply. "I-"

"Don't care." She said, sending Hans apology off a proverbial cliff. She came down the steps with long, swinging steps that expressed both grace and a slight sense of conservative provocativeness. Hans observed the slit that ran halfway up her thigh and had to force himself to look back at her face, which had a stone expression.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." She said, bowing, a nasty sneer forming on her face. "What an honor." She spat, standing up. Hans swallowed and looked down. "Coward." She said, a hissing tone to her voice. "Haven't even the courage to look me in the eye."

Hans pursed his lips at this and turned his head up, looking her straight in the eyes, caught off guard slightly by the blueness of them. Cerulean, with a ring of dark blue on the outer rim of the iris, making him think of a bright sky and the sea that was about to release all its beautiful fury.

"Hmph." She held her head high. "Even so, you've been condemned here as a servant; not even part of the staff."

"I'm not?" Hans gave her a confused look.

"No." She smirked. "The staff gets paid."

"Of course." He sighed. This was going to be hell-his life was going to be hell.

"Your room is in the tallest tower we possess. There you will find a cot and nothing more. You will eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the staff, and you will work whenever your assistance is deemed necessary by myself, Anna, or any other residant of the castle-this includes the staff."

Hans scowled. Great. He was a servants servant. More salt in the wound.

"Fredrick." Elsa called, drawing a rotund man with round spectacles and a well kept mustache from somewhere within the castle.

"You called, Madam Elsa?" He asked, hands behind his back.

"Yes, Fredrick, lead Hans to his room, and give him his first assignment." She turned her head back to Hans. "One more thing, soon as you finish doing something, you must immediately report to whoever told you to do it and see if there is anything else to be done. If they give you nothing, ask the main occupants of the castle-myself, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf- if there is anything else that needs doing. If there is nothing to be done, then you will have free time. During this time you are to remain on castle grounds and not go into any occupied bedrooms. Understood?"

Hans nodded once. "Understood." He said through gritted teeth, doing his best to keep himself under control. She nodded once and turned her back, heading back up the stairs and down a hall.

"Come on." Fredrick snapped when she was gone, grabbing Hans wrist roughly. For a small man, he had a surprisingly strong-and painful- grip.

"Bye, bye." Anna gave an overly sweet smile and waved with her fingers as Hans was led off.

He ripped his wrist away from Fredrick when they were out of Elsa and Anna's sight. "Ow."

Fredrick glared, giving him a warning look. "You run, I'll-"

"I'm not running, good God. That rarely ever works, and I'm in deep enough of a hole as is." Hans snapped. Fredrick blinked, and looked nearly impressed.

"Well then, smart lad." He patted his arm. "You could manage well here." He started up the winding stairs that led to Hans room, which, Hans could tell, would be a pain in the ass to go up and down. "Very well."

They silently ascended the steps. At the top, Hans looked around what would be his home for the rest of his time on earth. A simple, uncomfortable looking cot. A dusty wood floor. Stone walls. A single window. And a closet.

"She didn't mention a closet." He said. Fredrick went to it and opened the door. Inside was a rack with some hangers, and on the floor of the closet was a shovel and some other standard landscaping tools.

"Madam Anna had it and the tools added last minute." Fredrick explained. "She decided you could use a place to put your clothes, and that it would put both her and Elsa's minds to rest knowing you have to tire yourself out by lugging tools up and down those dreadful steps."

Hans rolled his eyes, tossing the sack of his clothes onto the cot. "They're real sweethearts."

"Aren't they, though?" Fredrick grinned, a smirk in his eyes. "Now, then," he took the shovel, which was a good foot taller than him, and handed it to Hans. "Your first assignment is to muck out the horse stalls, change their water, and then give them oats."

"Yes, sir." He mock saluted him, feeling no need to much respect one of the staff like he would Anna or Elsa-the staff didn't scare him.

"Mhm." Fredrick rolled his eyes and left down the steps. Hans sighed deeply when he was gone and looked at himself. Well kept hair, soft hands. These were going to be lost in his work, he thought. Unless he did less landscaping and more dusting, or whatever other chores they would think up. He sighed and stared out the window, gazing at the treacherous but beautiful snowy mountains, noticing that Elsa's ice castle remianed-and was even bigger. His eyes traveled from there down to groves of trees, then part of the small kingdom, and finally the castle grounds and the sea. He grabbed the shovel tighter and started down the stairs, a knot of regret forming in his stomach as he traveled to the stinking horse stalls and began to muck them, feeling like even the horses were mocking him.


	3. This Means War

"Elsa?"

Olaf peeked over the side of Elsa's bed. The young queen lay, sleeping peacefully, her hair fanning out on her bed to look like a sea of white waves. Olaf grabbed the blankets and heaved his chubby little snow butt, wiggling his legs like it would propel him onto the covers. He rolled on and sat. Elsa remained sleeping, barely twitching as she turned over, hugging her pillow, looking as elegant in sleep as she did awake. Olaf bent his head down by hers and whispered.

"Elsa?"

Thunder boomed outside.

"AAHHH!" He jumped and clung to her head. Elsa woke with a start and sat up.

"OLAF?!" She yelled. Olaf dropped from her face, landing in her lap. Elsa stared at Olaf with squinty eyes, putting a hand on her touseled hair. Olaf blinked and looked up at her innocently.

"I'm sorry-I-uh-"

"Out with it," she yawned, "Olaf."

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked quickly, staring at his hands and jumping as another clap of thunder shook the castle windows. Elsa blinked groggily before rolling over, hooking Olaf under her arm in the process, her hair going over him like a blanket. "Of course Olaf." She mumbled, chuckling a bit. Olaf smiled and soon fell asleep.

Then Anna came in.

"ELSSAAAAA!" She screeched, crashing on top of her elder sister. Elsa jumped awake, as did Olaf, looking dazed and confused.

"I DIDN'T STEAL IT!" Elsa shouted before seeing Anna. She glared slightly. "Anna, what do you want?"

"Thunder scary, sissy good." She grabbed a hold of Elsa by the shoulders and pulled her down with her, flopping in between Elsa and Olaf. Elsa made a series of muffled sounds as Anna gripped her head against her chest, staring out the window with wide puppy dog eyes. Elsa continued to make muffled noises while Olaf, soothed simply by having the presence of one of a human being beside him, fell asleep. Finally, when she felt she might suffocate, Elsa took a deep breath through the nose, and exhaled, sending a frost over Anna's chest.

"AH!" Anna through her off, nearly sending Elsa off the bed. "YOU. JUST. FROZE. MY. BREASTS."

"LIKE YOU HAD ANY TO FREEZE ANYWAY!" She shoved Anna off the bed, surprisingly missing Olaf. Anna landed with a thunk and a gasp, getting up on her knees and glaring at Elsa. "LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!"

"I've got plenty." Elsa said, patting her chest in an almost smug manner. Anna pursed her lips and stuck her tongue out at her sister. Elsa stuck hers out and then adjusted her hair, running her fingers through the silky locks.

"Well, at least I have a boyfriend!"

Elsa stopped dead and turned her eyes to Anna. Anna cowered. Then Elsa pounced at her. Anna dodged her, making Elsa slam face first into the wall.

"I'M SORRY!" She yelled, running out of the room. Elsa scrambled to her feet and ran after, ignoring the fact that not even the birds had woken yet.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY," Anna kept screaming as Elsa pursued her down the hall and into the ball room, where they both slipped and slid in their sock feet, then down the stairs. Elsa jumped and iced the banister, sliding down it, spawning snowballs and throwing them at Anna.

"DON'T YOU THINK THIS IS A BIT OF AN OVERREACTION?!" Anna squealed as a snowball grazed her nose. She jumped the last few stairs and continued running.

"ACTUALLY," Elsa jumped from the banister and tackled Anna to the ground, rolling and wrestling with her until she landed, triumphant, on top, pinning her down. "This is just fun." She grinned wildly; uncharacteristically. Anna blinked and then grinned. Half the staff watched from doorways or up on the stairs, looking bewildered, tired, and somewhat annoyed. Hans came in from the hall, being the only one completely dressed, looking very tired. He was still getting used to his haywire schedule. Anna laughed and shoved Elsa off playfully. Elsa tickled her stomach and paused abruptly, looking at the crowd that observed them.

"Nothing going on here. Carry on."

There was an awkward silence, and then the sound of shuffling feet and whispering as the staff returned to their rooms. Hans backed up, watching from the doorway of the hall. He observed the two sisters begin play wrestling, which-though he wasn't surprised of Anna doing it- it was a sight to see Elsa participating. Her hair actually got messed up-which, in the week or so he'd spent there so far, he'd quickly discovered was something that never happened. At one point Elsa stopped and got up, grinning.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" She sang. Anna clasped her hands together eagerly. Elsa dipped forward, making a sweeping motion. Ice coated the floor and walls. With another sweep, a green tinted snowflake appeared in the middle. Hans stared in awe. He'd never seen her powers expressed so gracefully. It was like watching an artist at work. From there she made snow and then they went to it and started making a snowman. First the bottom, then the middle, and then the big fat head. Anna skidded off and returned with a couple sticks and a carrot nose. Elsa took the carrot and put it on him and Anna inserted the sticks.

Hans chuckled lightly. The sound, unfortunately for him, echoed. Loudly. Both sisters abruptly turned around, Anna glaring, Elsa stone faced. Hans paused only a moment before zipping down the hall, abandoning his dusting duties and starting to run up the stairs to his bedroom. He was stopped barely halfway up by ice, which caused him to slip and fall all the way down the stairs, impressively not breaking his neck. He opened his eyes, his vision doubling everything for a moment before settling, allowing him to focus on a terrifying Queen Elsa, who had her arms crossed as she stared down at him.

"M-M-My apologies, Your Highness." He quickly got to his feet, his head pounding. He hated himself right now. He'd become so...submissive.

"Were you just finishing your dusting, hm, Hans?" She said sweetly, smiling. He was screwed.

"Uh-uh y-yes Your Highness."

"Ah, well," her tone was light and cheery as she looked up at him, smiling toothily. "I think you missed a spot."

"Where?"

"I'd say the entire second story. Sweep and dust, twice. And I'll know if you skipped anywhere."

"But-"

Before he could speak anymore his mouth was sealed shut by ice. He tugged and smacked at it but it didn't move. Actually, it hurt.

"Do as you are told." Elsa said frostily before turning on her heel. She turned her head back slightly. "I expect it done before I awake in the morning."

Hans could only nod. After that, she left. Hans, tired, pissed, and depressed, trudged up to the second story and began dusting. Though he knew better, his mind started thinking up ways to get back at the dastardly queen.


	4. Walk Through the Woods

He finished his work around five in the morning. He was then woken up at eight to muck out the stall of Elsa's horse before the queen went for a ride she'd scheduled the previous evening. He near collapsed at the table where he and the staff ate. He laid his head down, exhaling, resisting the urge to cry. He was tired. Beyond tired. Exhausted and worn and broken. No one cared here. He might as well die.

"Come on, dear."

He blinked, opening his eyes, and then lifting his head to the plump and motherly face of Mrs. Nork, one of the castle cooks. She set a plate of hearty foods in front of him: eggs, bacon, toast, and sausage. She also gave him a glass of water. Ok, so there was one person who cared. He smiled softly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Nork."

She nodded a bit, smiling a little. "You work hard boy." She patted his back with one of her mitten like hands. "Need somethin' ta keep ye goin'."

He coughed a bit awkwardly and smiled at her. She then went back to cooking as he wolfed down the food in a fashion that would have made his mother recoil. In the short time he'd been there as a servant, he'd already abandoned his princely manners. After he was done he handed the plate to Mrs. Nork.

"Do you know what I'm supposed to do today so far, Mrs. Nork?"

She started washing the dish as she thought, tucking a silver hair behind her ear. "I don't think so dearie. I'd go ask Anna."

He nodded a bit and went off. To his knowledge, Mrs. Nork was the only one who casually referred to Anna and Elsa without their titles, making him suspect she'd been a long time employee. On his way to find Anna, Hans ran into Fredrick. The dwarflike fellow looked up at him and smiled almost crookedly.

"Ah, Hans, glad I've ran into our new gopher."

"What do you want, Fredrick." Hans sighed, prepairing his sore joints for whatever work was ahead of him.

"Ah, well, I'm feeling a bit tired today, so I thought you wouldn't mind doing my share of the gardening, now would you?"

Hans didn't respond.

"Of course not. Now then, t-"

"You can do your own gardening, Fredrick." Interrupted a chilly voice. Both men turned to the right, seeing Elsa. She was in a shorter dress with a cape and riding pants under it. She still wore her high heels. All of the outfit was blue.

"E-Excuse me, Your Highness?" He seemed a bit startled; even flustered. Hans kept straight faced. "I said you can do your own gardening, Fredrick. I need Hans to accompany me."

"Why what for?" He blinked.

"My own reasons." She waved him away in a rather shooing fashion. Fredrick only bowed. "As you wish." He then turned and walked away, giving Hans a backwards glance like "you got lucky this time, boy". Hans smirked and turned to Elsa, bowing shortly. "My queen." He said.

Her nose twitched. It reminded Hans of a cute bunny rabbit. "Follow me, Hans." She turned and walked. Hans followed her. They soon found themselves in the back courtyard, which was decorated with petunias and lilies and an assortment of other flowers. At the end of the courtyard stood a snow white palomino with black spots. It looked proud and powerful.

"Blizzard." She whistled. The horse turned its head and seemed to almost smile, whinnying and nuzzling Elsa's face as she approached. The young queen chuckled and pet her horses muzzle before grabbing the horn of the black saddle and sticking her foot in the stirrup, pulling herself up with surprising ease. She adjusted herself so she sat sidesaddle and folded her hands in her lap, one hand holding the reins.

Hans looked around. They were the only two out there, and there wasn't another horse. "So, um, Your Highness, what am I doing here exactly?"

She looked at him. "You're going to walk alongside my horse while I ride."

He blinked. "Why, exactly?"

"Because she's very skittish, Hans. Anna and Kristoff are both absent, and I'd look awful with a guard."

"You'd look awful with a guard?"

"I'd look like a royal, Hans. I rather put myself beside my people than above them." She held a gaze with him for a good minute after this before making a clicking sound with her mouth. Blizzard snorted and started walking out in the field behind the castle that led through the woods, following a beaten path. Hans paused a moment before trotting after. Peculiar. She seemed to not trust him much at all, yet she let him accompany her on her ride. Furthermore, was he really needed? He glanced at Elsa, with her head held high and her back straight, glimmering hair neatly put up in a braided topknot. Despite her thin build, she was more intimidating than dainty looking. She could easily take care of herself. Even if a horse was startled, she could more than likely get it under control, or probably freeze it in place before she toppled over. She could create a bank of snow in seconds that would cushion her. And the woodland creatures didn't submurge much until late at night. Surely, surely she could take care of herself. She didn't need him.

Or did she?

Did she not think the way he did? Was she afraid she might not act quick enough-or did she simply desire company? His company? Hans realized he was overthinking things when he slammed straight into a tree. He fell flat on his back, dazed.

Elsa stopped the horse. "Are you alright?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow while grinning. The horse whinnied like it was laughing. He heard a chuckle escape her lips.

"F-Fine." He mumbled, standing, bracing himself against the tree and rapidly blinking. "This tree, here, this tree got in my way."

"Ah, yes, those nasty trees, always getting in peoples paths. How rude of them." She said, playing along nonchalantly.

"They are. Quite rude. Overly rude. Their roots also trip people far too often." He came to her side again as she made a clicking sound with her mouth, walking alongside her down a dirt path, through the fur and pine trees. "And don't even get me started on their branches. What a nuisance."

"Truely." She nodded, looking ahead. She seemed to be enjoying the comedic banter. Yes, that's it, Hans concluded. He was along simply for some sort of human company-even if that company was your would-be assassin.

"You should do something about it." He suggested.

"Oh, really? Why me?"

"Well, you're the queen. They're your trees in your land. Put it up in the town square. "Royal Decree Number Twenty Nine: All Trees Must Henceforth Quit Being A Nuisance. No More Tripping, Scratching, Getting in the Way, or Whacking by Order of the Queen of Arendelle and her Royal Court."

She burst out laughing. "That's absolutely ridiculous!" She declared, turning Blizzard into a clearing. "They'll just continue to meddle-even more as a sign of rebellion!"

Hans grinned and laughed. "Bring in the armed forces. Show 'em who's boss!"

"I'd rather avoid conflict, thank you. I'm not a bloodthirsty ruler." She waved it away over-dramatically. "I'll just-AH!"

Without warning Blizzard let out a startled neigh and rose to her hind legs, throwing an unsuspecting Elsa off, flying through the air. Hans watched for a split milisecond before charging like a bull to catch up. He failed in catching her, but did succeed in breaking her fall. He fell to the ground on his back, and the queen, still screaming, was thrust into him. Rather, her backside was thrust into his face, and her foot landed on his crotch. Hans squealed in pain, making Elsa jump and fall back into the dirt as Blizzard jumped over them and sprinted back to the castle. Hans, winded, bolted up and covered his crotch and then looked to Elsa. She looked scarcely dazed and was picking herself up, muttering and plucking twigs and leaves from her hair. Hans attempted to breath deeply, but stopped when a sharp pain attacked his chest.

"You alright?" He wheezed, feeling more concern over her than his probably broken rib and bruised, erm, snow globes, so to speak.

"I'm fine, I'm fine-oh my." She winced when she saw how he was covering himself and then drew her legs off his and stood. "I-ouch-I'm sorry." She actually did sound sorry as she held out a hand to him. Hans took it and was surprised at the ease which she took to pull him to his feet.

"Fine." He wheezed, looking sheepish as red hot pain flashed through his body. "What startled her?"

Elsa blinked and looked around, dusting herself off. She sighed, and pointed to a branch, which looked slightly shaped like a snake. "That."

Hans looked and closed his eyes, smacking himself in the face. "For the love of God."

"Oh well." She sighed and looked at him. "Are you alright?"

"I think I broke a rib." He muttered, rubbing his neck. He felt rather embarrassed, oddly enough. She immediately gripped his arm and then let go.

"Come on then. Better get it patched up." She said in a hurried tone. He looked at her curiously. She must have realized how worried she sounded, because she coughed and drew herself up. "Don't want you unable to work for very long."

"Ah. Mhm, of course not, Your Majesty." He said, letting his smirk show. She looked a bit flustered and looked around pointlessly before beginning forward, slowly, though, allowing Hans and his smirk to keep up.

He believed now she didn't want just anyone's company.


	5. Miss Serpentine

Elsa allowed no questioning when she ordered the castle doctor to tend to Hans and let him rest the full day. She simply walked away, going to her room. There she let loose her hair into its elegantly wild style she'd kept since she'd gained freedom months before. She then sat on her bed and rubbed her hands together, spawning fluffy snow that landed on her feet, making her clothes change into her usual cape and dress, though with a lower slit. She laid back on her bed and traced the snowflake designs in the ice headboard with her nail. She'd only wanted Hans for some sort of human company and nothing more, she told herself again and again. She knew she wasn't the best rider, and was just lucky enough to have a very well trained horse. She always had a person with her when she rode-usually Anna who would ride alongside her, but sometimes Kristoff. She used to always have John with her, but...well they'd been avoiding each other. So, she'd brought Hans, preferring to let the rest of the staff be...them. And that was all-though, she had to tell herself this repeatedly.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

"Elsa?"

"Oh, Anna. Come in." She sat up as Anna entered, wearing the green dress she'd worn to Elsa's coronation. She was holding a stack of papers that nearly covered her face, which seemed to consist of a haywire assortment of documents and letters. She ungracefully dumped them across Elsa's lap and bed.

"Thank you for being so organized, Anna." Elsa said dryly, picking up one letter and realizing it was just a blank envelope. She blinked and put that aside and picked up others, finding them the same. She then read over the document, finding it a pre-written letter. An invitation. To...her birthday party.

"Oh, not this again." She sighed, flopping back on the bed, making a few letters and envelopes fall.

"Oh, yes." Anna grabbed up the fallen parchment and tossed it back on the bed.

"Must I have a party?" Elsa complained, playing with one of the papers, punching holes in the corners with her nails. "I'd rather just spend my birthday reading and eating an unhealthy amount of chocolate."

"Yeah, but it's expected by everyone. Especially Nana." Anna sighed, referring to their grandmother on their father's side. The former queen lived primarily in Ireland since their parents death, but often traveled to Estonia and France and sometimes stopped by Norway to visit Elsa and Anna-though these were rare and often unannounced.

"She has one of those, erm, typewriters, right?" Elsa asked, looking at the machine made script on the invitations, which left only room to put the name of the person it was addressed to, and for her to sign the bottom.

"Yes, she wrote a letter saying she got one from some tradesman from England or something of the like. She typed out one herself and then had it copied a few hundred time. These are just some of them, the rest are in a large box. Along with some chocolate."

"Where's the chocolate?"

Anna patted her belly, grinning. Elsa rolled her eyes, shoving the papers off her and standing. "Of course."

"They were good."

"Don't rub it in, rat."

"Hehehe."

Elsa shoved Anna lightly and then, with surprising speed, organized the papers so the envelopes were with envelopes and the papers were all neatly stacked.

"I just don't understand all the fuss of this. Everyone has birthdays. I don't know why mine has to be any different." Elsa said as she took the papers to her desk, leaving the envelopes on her bed. She noticed that her Nana had put the date as on her actual birthday-the 21st of June. This annoyed Elsa, who'd thought she'd at least be able to leave her actual birthday free and throw the party the day before. Even though it was the anniversary of her coronation, Elsa had no intention of throwing a party for it, she'd just figured she'd wander around Arendelle and speak with the townsfolk on a more personal level than usual-though she was already pretty personal with them. Nothing more than that, and then she'd go back and be lazy until bedtime. Nope. Now she had to host a party to, judging by the list her Nana had taken the liberty of typing up, a hundred or more people. Lovely.

"Hey, Anna, don't we have a staff member who plans the parties?" She asked as she began writing out invintations grudgedly.

"Um, no?"

"Oh...who planned my coronation then?"

"Nana?"

"...Anna, do me a favor, will you?" She turned to her sister, who was opening a drawer on Elsa's bedside table and about to steal chocolate she kept in there.

"You steal that, you die."

Anna jumped and slipped, falling flat on her butt. She mumbled curses while drawing her shawl closer around her shoulders and standing up, rubbing her backside. "Right, right. What do you want, Elsa?"

"Go hire someone to plan a party suited to...these people." She gestured to the list. Anna walked over and scanned it. "Why don't you plan it?"

"I don't want to do the work."

"I didn't know you were lazy."

"I have my moments. Just find someone and tell them there has to be chocolate."

"Lots of chocolate?" Anna looked hopeful. Elsa grinned a bit.

"Of course."

Anna squealed and hugged Elsa. "Finding one random party planner right now!" She jumped and ran out. Elsa chuckled, addressing a letter and then enchanting it. She did this for every letter she addressed, sighing, wondering who half these people were.

The Duke sat in his chair, perched peculiarly akin to a small hummingbird or finch. His legs were crossed, and in his lap he had a saucer and teacup. He sipped the tea, pinky out. Across his mahogany desk sat a person who's hood was drawn too low for their face to be distinguishable. Their frame was slight, though, and an ample chest expressed their gender to be woman. Not to mention a dainty, manicured hand with blood red fingernails that were sharpened to a point.

"Tell me again what your request is, Duke." She said, her silvery voice slithering around the room like a deadly serpent. It sent a shiver through the Duke's body.

"Well, Miss Serpentine," he said, doing his best to keep his voice even as he put his tea down on the desk. "I need you to do something-anything-to rid of Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

"I know that," she spat, drumming her fingers on the table. "I need specifics."

"I said any way."

A low growl surfaced. "Specifics."

"Something to get her off the throne!" The Duke snapped, "throw the kingdom off balance, have it destroy itself, anything!"

The growl grew stronger. "If you aren't going to give me specifics, you'll have to pay me triple."

"Triple?!" Exclaimed The Duke, who's hairpiece bounced when he jumped up. "I'm already paying you more than enough!"

"Fine." She said calmly, standing, her cape sweeping around her legs. "I'll take my business elsewhere."

"No!" The Duke jumped again, his hairpiece following suit. "I-No, no, I'll," he sighed, swallowing, wringing his hands as he looked around the lavishly decorated office. "I'll pay you triple."

The Duke could feel Miss Serpentine's concealed smile. "Glad to see you have some sort of working brain." She said, stepping forward and shaking his sweaty hand. "I'll attend the party and she'll be done with. Where is the money?"

The Duke walked to a portrait of his grandmother and ran his hand along its side, pressing a small button. A part of the wall popped out beside the painting, and he pulled it back to reveal a safe. He entered the complicated number combination and opened it to a pile of bills. He took out triple what he was going to pay her and shoved it in a bag, which he handed to Miss Serpentine.

"Thank you. Consider it done." She said, turning on her heel and walking out, lightly closing the grand oak door behind her. The Duke stared a moment before closing and locking the safe and then shakily walking and sitting down at his desk. He sipped his tea and stared at the wall. Yes. She was known for her work. It would all be done soon.


	6. Nana Fanny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to note for anyone that read this far: I started writing this in 2013, finished in 2014. It took about a year too do and my writing gets better as it progresses. Granted, my writing now is better than any of this more than likely, but I just wanted to leave a note after reading over this chapter.
> 
> And the story is supposed to take place in the 1860s - as was previously stated - due to the ice trade. I'm aware now the official timeline says Frozen takes place in the early 1840s.
> 
> Oh and for the British readers, I didn't know what 'fanny' meant in Britian until AFTER I finished this entire story.

Elsa and Anna both stood at the end of the dock, awaiting the arrival of their father's mother, otherwise known as Nana Fey. The boat soon docked, making both girls wince at the same time. Nana Fey was a woman who could possibly be older than time itself, far as anyone could guess from appearance. Her leathery skin hung in loose rolls from her bony skeleton, covered in liver spots. Her snow white hair was always done in a tight braid that reached far past any logical length and made her seem quite top-heavy. Elsa and Nana Fey shared matching eyes and she knew that her hair was once the same brownish auburn hair that Anna now possessed. Despite her easily seen ancient age, Nana Fey pushed aside a guard who offered to carry her bags and took them in her own two bony hands, complaining loudly in French about her ankles as she dragged an obscene amount of robes behind her while she went along the dock to her two granddaughters, her obscene behind swaying from side to side as she walked.

"Annie!" She exclaimed, her accent a rich mixture of different cultures. She grabbed Anna's shoulders and pulled her down to her height, kissing her on the cheek, leaving a big red spot.

"Hi, Nana." Anna gave a small smile, wiping away the lipstick discreetly as Nana Fey moved to Elsa. She paused a second, cocking her head to the side.

"You froze all of Arendelle in one go, eh?"

Elsa paused before nodding. Nana Fey grinned and grabbed her around the neck, pulling her down and hugging her head. "That's my Elsie! Little Elsie, Elsie, such a dear. Now, at least. You used to be so naughty. I remember the time you froze your tutors tea while he was drinking it just because he chided your posture. Naughty, naughty."

Elsa pulled away from Nana Fey, rubbing her face. "Yes, well, that was ten years ago, Nana."

"Ten years!" She exclaimed, taking out her pocket watch and looking at it. "Maude! My watch is broken!"

Elsa blinked before bending slightly next to the short, vulture statured woman and pointing to it. "A watch doesn't tell years, Nana. It tells minutes, hours, and seconds."

"Look closer, you dimwit." Nana Fey smacked a peeved Elsa upside the head and then pointed to the watch. Elsa looked and blinked. The watch had years from 1800 to 1900, each having its own notch. The single hand was currently pointing at the year 1862, when the year was 1864.

"What in the-"

"I've been thinking it was 1862 for the last-" she paused, "four and something months-nearly five months! Good God, I'm going to SMACK your cousin when I get home, you just wait!" She then went on to curse in French. The curses of which were rather unorthodox and unorganized and completely un-ladylike. Elsa sighed deeply and simply stepped out of the way as the former Queen of Arendelle marched forward with her bags, seeming completely unfazed by the obvious weight of the bulging cases as the sisters followed rather slowly behind her.

"Welcome Nana Fanny," Anna muttered to Elsa. She knew she wouldn't be scolded; Elsa hated Nana more than her.

Nana Fey approached the castle and stopped in front of the door, looking around. She spotted Hans tending the front garden and set her bags down, taking off her hat and fanning herself with it.

"Yoo-hoo! You there with the lovely fanny!" Hans turned his head and seemed to conceal a look of disgust as he stood, spade in one hand, flower in the other. "Get over here and carry my bags, would you?"

Hans paused a minute before putting down his things, taking off his sunhat and removing his garden gloves, showing calloused hands that were tanned with the rest of his body. He wiped his brown and walked over, dusting off his shirt. "Yes, ma'am, I'll take your bags." He said in a dull tone. She smiled. "What's your name, lad?"

"Hans, ma'am."

"Good name, Hans. Where have I heard that before..." She cocked her head to the side, looking to Anna and Elsa. Anna rolled her eyes. "He's kinda the guy who tried to kill both me and Elsa to get to the throne of Arendelle, Nana."

"Oh yeah, that's it!" She grinned, turning to Hans. "Too bad you're apparently evil, I like your fanny."

"Nana!" Both sisters exclaimed, looking disgusted.

She shrugged. "I may be old, but I haven't lost my sense of taste. Come on, Hans, my room is the first on the right off the main room."

Hans mutely nodded, walking beside the woman as she took her incredibly long strides for a woman her age. Upon reaching her room, he set down her bags and turned to her. She just dismissed him with a flick of her wrist and turned to the girls.

"So, Anna, you have that beau of yours, right? Christmas?"

"Kristoff..."

"Ah, ah, yes. Kristoff. Ice boy. Lovely, lass." She then turned to Elsa. "You've got that messenger, John?"

Elsa went tight lipped, gripping her hands together slightly in front of her. "No, Nana. We've separated."

"Oh! Well good God, don't act like you just did that dirty divorce thing," her grandmother snorted, "you looked like a member of a funeral home soon as I mentioned him. Chin up, chest out-they like that, you know- and don't forget the back, dear. I might try that lovely man with the nice fanny."

Elsa blinked rapidly before scrunching up her mouth and turning on her heel, marching out. Nana Fey blinked and looked to Anna confusedly. "What'd I say?"

"You just recommended she go out with her possible assassin, Nana." Anna explained.

"Oh." She looked out the door. "Well, he still has a nice fanny."

Kristoff unloaded the ice at the back door of a shopkeeper, breathing deeply when he was done.

"Thank ya, lad!" He exclaimed happily, handing Kristoff his pay. Kristoff nodded to him while putting the money in a small pouch around his waist. "My pleasure, sir."

The shopkeeper nodded and then closed the door. Kristoff looked to the sleigh. "Thank God. You can go back to your stable, Sven. We're done for the day." He smiled. Sven let out a tired snort of relief and walked to the royal stables, where the stable-hands would unharness him and he'd be free to wander. Kristoff turned around and nearly smacked into a young woman.

"O-Oh, sorry, miss!" He apologized, backing up. He quickly looked her up and down. She looked delicate, and beautiful. Kristoff felt both attracted and afraid of her at the same time-the latter probably due to her sharp nails painted blood red. Her crimson lips turned up in a smile as her glimmering green eyes made Kristoff nearly weak in the knees. He had to repeatedly tell himself "I have a girlfriend" in his head.

"Hello." She said in a voice that was just like her: attractive and scary. "Do you know this area?"

"U-Um, yes." He nodded quickly, trying not to look at her breasts that were framed by long, loose raven curls. She smiled, adjusting a brown satchel with a posy embroidered on the worn leather on her shoulder. "Well, could you show me where a hotel is? I'm afraid of getting lost." Her tone was a bit seductive, and Kristoff could feel himself being pulled into some kind of trance as he nodded and waved for her to follow him. He walked down the main street, the slightest robotic feeling tingling through his body. She remained silent, both of her hands firmly held around the strap of the satchel, a ring on each finger, each with some sort of symbol. Kristoff brought her to a humble but popular Arendelle inn known as "The Ice Castle", after the ice castle that remained up on the north mountain that Elsa had built. It was all white, with snowflakes embroidered on the paneling. The woman smiled and turned to Kristoff.

"Thank you for your help." She said sweetly. Kristoff smiled and nodded a bit limply, watching as she turned and walked in, the bell on the door ringing. Soon as she entered he shook his head and looked around, an uneasy feeling left in him. He scratched at his shoulder and looked around before walking down the street, towards an apartment of sorts he rented in town to be closer to Anna since Elsa refused to let him and her stay in the castle together without being married. He entered the humble, one roomed home and took off his hat, tossing it to the side and then flopping on the bed. He shivered slightly and stretched out, putting his hands behind his head. There was something wrong with this woman, he knew. Something...unnatural. He made note to go talk with Grand Pabbie about it and turned over, quickly falling asleep so he'd be well rested for the late night walk there.


	7. Dark Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad to see so many hits on this. I apologize about the formatting on this. AO3 takes out my italics and the lines I use to seperate the story segments and I have no idea how to edit it - I couldn't figure it out when pasting it to the text box for the chapters. Again, apologies!

Kristoff pulled on his jacket and started walking to The Valley of the Living Rock. The air was unusually cold that night, letting Kristoff see his breath for the first time in months. It was refreshing. Like Elsa, Kristoff far preferred the winter over the summer-despite the fact that it made business a bit slower, since people could easily get their own ice rather than pay some guy to go drag it from the mountains. The air was fresher and crisper now than the humid film that hovered during the day-unless they were lucky to get a "dry" heat spell. Kristoff kicked a rock as he walked, his thoughts suddenly shifting from his longing for cool air to the mysterious woman he felt he'd almost been forced to help. Growing up with the trolls, Kristoff knew there was something unnatural-i.e., magical, about the woman. That power she seemed to have over him was less than appealing and left a coppery taste in his mouth. Her beauty had been as appealing as it had been intimidating (and unnerving as Kristoff imagined Anna catching him gawking). He hoped Grand Pabbie knew what was going on.

He approached the Valley, smiling at the rocks he knew were more than rocks, they were his family.

"Hey everyone!" He called out cheerfully. immediately they unrolled from their stone forms, and the trolls grinned at him.

"Kristoff!" His mother called out, coming over and hugging his leg and then smiling. "We haven't seen you in a week!"

"Heh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck a bit while kneeling down, letting the kids tackle him and roughhouse a bit. He chattered with a couple family members politely as others just waved and went back to sleep because it was rather late. His mother looked up at him and suddenly stopped.

"You're not here just to say hi, are you." She said, less of a question, more of a correct realization as she frowned sadly. Kristoff sighed.

"Sorry Mom I just...I really need to talk to Grand Pabbie..."

"About what?"

"I...met this woman today...and there's something not right about her."

She paused. "Are you in danger?"

Kristoff bit his lip and turned his head to the path leading to the Valley, then back to her. "I don't know."

After that answer, his mother quickly rolled away, into some trees. Minutes later, Grand Pabbie emerged, shaking snow from his clothes as he waddled over to Kristoff.

"Kristoff, Bulda said something happened?!" He seemed really concerned-overly concerned. Of course, once again, his mother had exagerated.

"Well," Kristoff adjusted himself, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. "It's just something I'm a bit unsure of."

Grand Pabbie paused and then turned an unamused gaze to Bulda.

"Oh, look at the time, I have to-uh-sleep." Bulda zipped away, turning into a boulder next to her husband, Cliff, who was snoring.

Grand Pabbie sighed. "Well then, what is it, Kristoff?"

Kristoff sighed and then explained, in detail, about the mysterious woman, the feeling of having to abide by her will when showing her to an inn, the coppery taste in his mouth and the terrible unease that something was wrong with her. Grand Pabbie leaned up and put his hand on Kristoff's forehead, and then on each of his cheeks, his heart, then his hands, mumbling to himself before forcing open his mouth and peering in. Kristoff complied, not in the least surprised by any of the actions. This was the standard checkup. After he was done, Grand Pabbie stepped back, making a sort of tsking noise.

"Dark magic. You've been touched by dark magic. Very strong...very strong dark magic."

Hans sighed, finishing up his most recent task of cleaning the kitchen stoves, inside and out. He looked like a coal miner as a result. Mrs. Nork came in, smiling softly.

"Oh you're done already, thank you Hans." She came over and set a trey of food on the table next to him, which, aside from the meat and beans and potatoes that let off an aroma that made his empty stomach growl ferociously, there was also a medium sized tin. It was simple, round and with no indentations or decorations. Hans was wiping off his hands as he stared at it, and then turned his curious look to Mrs. Nork. She smiled and patted his arm, setting coal dust into the open air.

"A present." She said. "You've been working hard."

Hans allowed his surprise to show. Though the staff had become less hostile with the recognition that Hans had yet tried to mutilate anyone, they still hated him, and more often than not he found himself working into the early morning and gaining only three to five hours of sleep (though he would compensate and find a nice closet to bunk down in for a couple hours when he was supposed to be looking for other work to be done). And he knew Mrs. Nork had a bit of a soft spot for him-only God knew why- but gift soft? She knew he was an "almost assassin" as much as anyone else.

She just chuckled. "I wanted you to have something to enjoy for a bit in your off time, Hans. You're not all bad."

"Thank you but...what makes you so sure?" It was an honest question. What made this woman see him any different?

"Simple." She said, pointing at his eyes momentarily. "You've got an innocent soul."

Hans was left blinking in confusion as she exited the room. He decided he'd eat before the food was cold and then washed and put away his dishes afterwards, still thinking. Innocent soul? How would she know? Hans decided to stop questioning himself. He went to the tin and opened it, finding it filled to the brim with still warm chocolate chip cookies. Hans shoved a whole one in his mouth and then put the lid back on as he chewed, hugging the tin to his chest. Good God these were delicious. Gift from God, he thought. He hadn't had anything sweet in months-and now he had a tin full of delicious cookies. He quickly went up to his room, panting at the top. He took the tin and hid it among the tools in the closet to avoid being questioned if and when Fredrick decided to come up and snoop around. He then sat on his bed for a split second before starting down the stairs again, the cookie putting him in a better mood than he had been in months. He reached the ground floor and shook himself vigorously to get the coal off to his best ability and stretched. His muscles had stopped being so sore from the continuous manual labor, making him able to do work faster, which meant either getting more done overall or being able to get some extra sleep in (though this was still rare).

He walked down the hall, customarily asking if anything needed to be done. All he asked said no-even Fredrick. He stood in the middle of the front room, thinking. He didn't have to do anything, he'd asked everyone-

Oh wait.

The princess and queen.

He sighed. He figured they'd both have something for him to do, more than likely. Still, if they were simple tasks, he might actually have some free time, and it was only eight o'clock.

He wandered to Anna's room, where he knocked. She answered, already in her nightgown, her face immediately drooping to a neutral dull expression.

"Hans." She said with no emotion.

"I came to ask if there's anything you need done." He said, hands clasped behind his back. She crinkled her nose.

"You smell like coal."

"Mhm."

"Why do you smell like coal."

"Because I had to clean the ovens?"

"Oh." Her expression went back to neutral as she glanced into her room. "I don't have anything for you right now, but I'd go ask Elsa."

Hans nodded. Anna slammed the door in his face. That was an improvement. He turned and then walked to the other side of the castle, which was always cooler than the rest because Elsa's room was there. He approached the frosty door and was about to knock, but stopped when he heard a sound. He looked around the hall and then pressed his ear to the door, ignoring the numbing feeling that began near immediately. Music. Harp. It was a beautiful tune, with mostly lows and some highs and a slow, steady rhythm like a strong river. Hans kept listening, recognizing the tune, but not quite able to remember it. Then, a voice as elegant and chillingly beautiful as fresh snow began drifting out with the music:

Born of snow and winter air

And mountain rain combining

This icy force both foul and fair,

Has a frozen heart worth mining.

"What do you mean very strong dark magic, Grand Pabbie?" Kristoff looked at him with a furrowed brow, secretly worrying he'd been cursed. Grand Pabbie shook his head.

"This type of spell I usually wouldn't be able to find traces of since it's so small," he said, "but whoever cast it is so powerful they couldn't help but leave a trace. Not to mention they must have not had to make any sort of motion to conduct it."

"She didn't." Kristoff said, deciding immediatly that it was the woman. "She just smiled at me."

"Did you look into her eyes at all?"

"That's kind of what you do when you meet a person."

Grand Pabbie rolled his eyes and whacked Kristoff upside the head. "What was on the satchel?"

Kristoff thought. "Um, a flower."

"What type of flower?"

"A flower, flower?"

Grand Pabbie groaned and rolled away, soon returning with a book. It was one of the ones he said the king had gifted him about magical societies after healing Anna, Grand Pabbie had told Kristoff. Kristoff had only ever glimpsed it, not even knowing where the old stone kept this book and the others he had from other people he'd helped. For some reason, they always gave him books if anything. It'd help extend his already massive knowledge of magic and magical things. He flipped through the pages and then stopped at a chapter labeled "Brandings".

"This shows some of the brandings or markings of magical societies and clans." Grand Pabbie explained, passing the book carefully to Kristoff. "They were all provided by ex-members of the societies. Flip through and tell me if you find the mark that was on the satchel." He then sat. Kristoff nodded and started flippng through the pages, seeing daffodils and trees and cobwebs and an assortment of other markings, ranging from holy to devilish to in-between and things that seemed random but contained a hidden meaning until he found a page with the flower, which turned out to be a posy. Kristoff turned the book around so Grand Pabbie could see and pointed to a picture that showed a posy on a pair of gloves.

Grand Pabbie looked very pale.


	8. Eve of the Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry about the lack of lines seperating the different sequences. I put in some little dashes this time to perhaps help.
> 
> Thanks for those who keep reading. :3

20th of June, Eve of the Queen's Birthday and Coronation

She'd never been much one for parties.

Even as a little girl, Elsa had always preferred the company of her sister and parents to that of other children. She figured it was mostly due to the fact she wasn't allowed to talk to the village children much. Though her parents were very open far as rulers went, they wouldn't allow either of their children to associate with a child from the village. It wasn't proper, or it was dangerous, or frowned upon or some ridiculous statement that had always driven Elsa absolutely mad. Then, when they'd have other royal children from neighboring kingdoms visit, Elsa would avoid all the other children, who were bratty and snobbish even at such a young age. She couldn't get along with them, not ever. Not even to pretend. She was so lonely at one point that she made up an imaginary friend named Rosa. Rosa was a wonderful girl with pale skin and dark hair and bright eyes just like hers. They'd play all day in her room and, whenever her parents came in, Rosa would hide under the bed and they'd both try not to burst into giggle fits because Elsa knew her parents would never like her friend. Rosa was Elsa's only friend, even after Anna was born. But, as Anna grew to an age where she could be a playmate, and as Elsa grew along to an age where her imagination grew to mild to pay attention to Rosa anymore, Rosa had slowly faded, only resurfacing when Elsa had been the loneliest during the better part of her childhood that she'd spent in her room. She'd still never had such a friend like Rosa, who shared an equal place with Anna in Elsa's heart. Now, about to be 22 come tomorrow, Elsa found herself wishing she could once again go to her room and just talk to Rosa.

"ELSA, HONEY, TIME TO GET YOUR ROCKIN' PATOOTIE IN THE DRESSING ROOM SO THE SEAMSTRESSES CAN FIT YOU FOR YOUR DRESS!" Nana Fey yelled from somewhere downstairs. Elsa dropped her face on her desk before sighing and standing, conjuring icy heels for her, which were tinted black slightly, like her dress. Elsa cursed under her breath s she went to the door. Her creations often became tinted a color that was keen to her emotions, whether she liked it or not. It was still something she was trying to get a handle on. She turned the knob and opened the door pushing out, but finding it to be stuck. She blinked and then tried again, hearing a thumb and mumbling. She furrowed her brow and put both hands on the door and pushed out with all her might, hearing cursing of an all-to familar voice. Stepping outside, she found Hans rubbing his head, still in his clothes from the day before when she'd seen him cleaning the ovens.

"What are you doing sleeping on my door." She said, finding herself not as creeped out as she suspected. Instead, she was almost amused, but curious. He looked up at her with wide eyes.

"I-uh-well-I-Um-"

"ELSA DEAR!" Nana Fey came charging by, grabbing Elsa's wrist and pulling her along with her. "MUSN'T BE LATE FOR THE FITTER! THE PARTY IS TOMORROW, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE DRESS FITS THAT HEINIE OF YOURS."

Elsa said nothing as she let herself be dragged along, only watching Hans, who remained on the floor on his hands and knees. looking bewildered as she did.

======================

Anna was already fitted for her party dress when Elsa came in. The seamstresses went over and started to pull off her dress, when it just disappeared, leaving Elsa in her skivvies. They both paused a minute to register, but when they remembered her powers, they just brought her up on the circular stand to be fitted, bringing out a deep blue dress with a black bodice and gold wrapping up her sleeves and down to her bodice. Anna chuckled while Elsa fussed, complaining how she can just make her own dress and that this wasn't necessary, that the seamstresses kept poking her (she ignored their apologies), and that the whole ordeal was unnecessary and inconvenient. Nana Fey rolled her eyes while Anna chuckled.

"You need this dress because no boy is going to want to touch you in that chilly gown you always wear." Nana Fey chided.

"I was in a relationship, Nana." Elsa said haughtily.

"Was." Nana Fey said.

"Nana." Anna said, giving her a look. Nana Fey looked over and shrugged. "Was." She said again. "You need someone new, and this is the perfect oppertunity! All the young princes from neighboring kingdoms are going to be here."

"Nana-"

"Oh don't you start that with me. If you wait to long to get married, there goes the royal babies."

"Nana!" Elsa hissed, balling her fists. "I don't want children." Oh no. Anna covered her face, peeking through the spaces of her fingers as the seamstresses backed away from the ice spikes forming and slowly working out from where Elsa stood.

Nana Fey crossed her arms. "You know there has to be an heir sometime."

"I. Don't. Want. Children." Elsa said, the spikes growing bigger.

"Y-"

"FORGET THIS!" Elsa threw her hands in the air, ice flying from her fingers and shattering the windows before she marched out the door, ripping off the dress as she did so and throwing it on the floor, spikes rupturing from the floor and piercing the fabric. Nana Fey didn't look phased and looked to the seamstresses. "Make an estimate and fit it up. I expect it ready for tomorrow." And she left as well.

Anna sighed and stood, smoothing out her skirt and going over to the terrified seamstresses. "It's alright, really. She's just really...sensitive, some days."

One seamstress nodded, her arm around the other's shoulders. After consoling them a bit more and handing them the dress, Anna went and found Hans, who was just coming up from the staff bathing area.

"Get an icepick, Hans." She said as she walked by, keeping her face neutral. "To the dressing room."

"Elsa?" He called back.

"Elsa."

Anna went outside, looking around, and then went to the front of the castle and walked to the village. Everyone graciously said hello to her and smiled and let her by. She waved and greeted back and would stop and talk with the children now and then. Everyone was used to Anna coming out, knowing she usually did to visit Kristoff. Now, if Elsa came out, that was another story. But she was just Anna, and she liked it that way.

She walked to Kristoff's apartment and entered with the spare key he'd given her, finding it empty. Anna blinked and went to his bed and sat on it, feeling confused. He wouldn't be out cutting ice right now, would he? He just finished a delivery yesterday from what she knew, and he usually took Sundays off. Then again, there might be more demand due to Elsa's party-or was she just thinking weird? Didn't they have their own cellar? Wait. of course they did, they had to feed themselves. She sighed and stopped thinking before her mind could wander and laid down in Kristoff's hay bed, running her hand along the scratchy wool blanket and breathing deeply, smiling at the scent of Kristoff: reindeer and pine. She began to drift off, only to be waken gently by a large hand shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes and smiled at Kristoff, though the smile quickly turned to a frown. Kristoff was looking down at her, hair a mess, and he radiated cold. Almost like Elsa.  
"Kristoff," she sat up quickly, grabbing his cold body and pulling him into a hug. Kristoff hugged her back before pulling away.

"Anna, I think Arendelle is in trouble."

======================

Miss Serpentine had never had much of an issue when on the job. She was sinfully attractive, clever as a fox, and was as strong as an ice harvester. As she browsed the dresses of the high-end shop in the town square, she wondered on how'd she get into the party. From the village talk she figured the gates would be guarded and only those on the guest list would be allowed to enter. But, after some distanced observation, she figured that Arendelle, a small kingdom that had seen very little war in its long rein, lacked in proper security. The people were to good natured and honest to break into the castle at any other time, let alone a royal party (even if someone did break in, they would just politely enjoy the party and leave, delighting in personal glory at sneaking into such a prestigious event). She figured they either wouldn't have guards at the back doors, or, if they did, she could sneak past them or easily get in through a window or something of the like, or, if push came to shove, she would use ulterior methods. She stopped browsing and found a red velvet dress with long sleeves and a turtleneck. She smirked. She could snip the collar in the front and bring it down low, and then fold over the rest of the collar for style. Then she could snip up the sleeves a bit...lengthen the slit...

She took the dress from the rack, checked the price, and went up to the male cashier. She handed the dress to him with a sweet smile, leaning on the table so her breasts rested on it. He smiled a bit nervously while ringing her up.

"That'll be ten dollars, M-Miss."

Miss Serpentine took out her handbag and took a five dollar bill from her purse and put it down, and then reached in again and put her hand over her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh my goodness, I don't have any more money!" She stuck out her lower lip and slumped her shoulders. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. I can't buy the dress." She put on a distressed tone before sniffing and reaching to take the dress, only to be stopped by the young man, who smiled a her slyly.

"It's alright, miss. I can cover for such a lovely little maid as yourself." He said with a flirty tone, taking her five dollars and putting it in the cash register. She made her eyes innocently wide and then smiled as he carefully folded the dress and put it in a box and handed it to her.

"Oh, thank you so, so, so much sir!" She said in a lightly toned voice, batting her long eyelashes, putting a bit of influence on him to stop any sort of questions. He only nodded, leaning his head on his hand while his elbow rested on the table. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, ta-ta!" She said, skipping out of the store. Soon as she was out of the window she spat on the ground and wiped off her lips with the corner of her dress.

"Disgusting." She growled. She took the dress to her inn room and then took out her sewing kit and set to work on it, smiling sinisterly as she formulated the rest of her plan.


	9. The Party - Part 1

June 21st, Summer Solstice, Queen Elsa of Arendelle's Twenty Second Birthday.

Elsa was still pissed on her birthday. At the breakfast table she didn't' say a word to Nana Fey, despite the old woman's many attempts at apologizing. When these apologies went un-recognized, she decided to dig herself a deeper hole and start scolding Elsa, again, for her stubbornness in not having children. This became so awful that Elsa left the table, taking a roll with her as she walked through the palace in her nightgown. She was soon pursued by Anna, who looked worried. Her hair still retained some porcupine qualities.

"Brush your hair, Anna." Elsa said, taking a bite of the roll as she began up the stairs. Anna followed, taking a brush from her nightgown pocket as she did so.

"Elsa, I need to talk to you."

"Abou' wot?" Elsa said, eating as she spoke (which was something she never did and kind of scared Anna).

"...Kristoff thinks Arendelle is in danger." She said, brushing her hair wildly. Elsa turned on her heel sharply, her half eaten roll in her mouth, and grabbed the brush before twirling Anna around and beginning to calmly brush her hair. Anna could hear Elsa still eating her roll, making an unappealing smacking sound as she took on the challenge of not using her hands. When she managed to pull the whole thing in her mouth, she spoke.

"Wot kind uv dangah." She asked, and then swallowed. Anna crinkled her nose. "Um, well he thinks there's an evil sorceress from some society here."

"That so." Elsa said dully, now braiding Anna's hair.

"Yes-why are you so...calm? Or bored? Or-or whatever you are."

Elsa sighed, adding some pretty little decorations to Anna's hair with her finger. "I haven't had my coffee yet, Anna."

Anna turned around. "You're not worried about your kingdom because you haven't had your freakin' coffee?!"

Elsa slowly and raised an eyebrow. Anna blinked. "You're serious."

"Remember how mother was before coffee?" Elsa said, folding her arms in front of her and walking to her room.

"Yeah."

"How was she?"

"Tired, grumpy, and unable to comprehend much besides her eggs."

Elsa didn't turn around and raised her hand, pointing down at herself and then opening the door to her room, walking inside, and shutting it. Anna stood there somewhat bewildered and rather annoyed, but understanding. Elsa was a lot like their mother, and she never had left the table without coffee before...

Anna went to her room, passing by the early arriving decorators. The staff was helping them, carrying some streamers and others treys of food. Elsa had already manufactured an un-melting ice chandelier similar to the one that was up in her castle on the North Mountain, which had candles ready to be lit in little notches made for them. Fredrick waddled by, carrying a stack of empty bowls that rose taller than he could ever wish to be. Mrs. Norse followed behind him carrying a large bowl of salad.

"Mrs. Norse," Anna said, stopping her. Mrs. Norse turned around and smiled. "Hello Anna dear, what are you doing still in your nightgown?"

Anna shrugged and it and gave her a sheepish smile. "Nothing, but is there any coffee left?"

Mrs. Norse paused and shook her head. "No dear, I'm afraid you'll have to make it yourself, unless you want me to?"

"No, no, Mrs. Nork. I an make it. You taught me when I was little, remember?" Anna grinned a bit. Mrs. Norse chuckled and nodded and then continued walking. Anna went to her room and got dressed in her party dress, which was black with a dark green bodice and gold accents on the sleeves and down and around the bodice, and the bottom of the dress. Anna kept her hair how Elsa had done it, finding it appealing. She traveled down to the kitchen and entered, finding Hans there with a large mug of coffee, still in his nightshirt and shorts. He looked over and blinked. She blinked back.

"What are you doing not dressed?" She said a bit hautily.

"Drinking coffee?" He said, holding up the mug.

"Don't you have work to do or something." She muttered, walking over to one of the tables and taking a scoop of coffee grounds, then going over to the stove. She stoppped whens he saw a pot of already made coffee sitting on the stove, being kept warm by embers.

"Who-"

"I did." Hans said, sipping his coffee. "It might be too strong for you."

She blinked. "I don't drink coffee."

"Then why are you getting coffee?"

She went and put the grounds back in place. "It's for Elsa."

"Ah. Well in that case it should be just right."

"How would you know?"

"Mrs. Nork taught me how to make it and told me it was the only way Elsa would drink it." He looked at his mug. "Which surprised me, because it nearly knocked me over the first time."

"Wimp." Anna said, taking some of the coffee after dipping her finger in to make sure it was warm enough.

"You take a sip." He said, smirking. Anna raised her eyebrows, surprised at just how casual and somewhat daring Hans was being. Normally he didn't really even talk to her, though he'd always say a polite word or two (which she near always ignored). But, feeling compelled to prove him wrong, Anna took a sip of the coffee. She near immediatly spit it out, putting the mug down and wiping her tongue, jumping. "EW, EW, EW, EW, EW."

Hans laughed. "Told you!"

Anna stopped and glared, spitting again to get the horrid taste out of her mouth and then taking the mug. "Oh, go-do whatever work you have to do."

"I have the day off."

"Ha. That's funny."

"No, I'm serious. The other staff won't let me near anything for the party, and none of them have anything for me to do. There's nothing to be cleaned and all the yard work is done, and I just mucked the stalls yesterday." He laughed a bit oddly. "I literally have nothing to do, since I know you haven't got anything, and neither does Elsa."

This explains his good mood, Anna thought. She tried to find something she could have him do, but there was literally nothing if the staff wouldn't cooperate with him. And, though she still did despise Hans, Anna was a fair person, and wasn't going to give him some ridiculous chore with no meaning or purpose simply to see him squirm. Besides, he had worked hard and without fail the whole three weeks he'd been here. She realized this in that moment-truly realized it-and felt suddenly guilty about being constantly rude and haughty towards him. She wasn't ready to start being nice to him quite yet, though. Just less mean. So she didn't even huff in her leaving. She carried the coffee to Elsa's room and knocked.

"What."

"I have coffee."

"You may enter."

Anna came in, shivering. She took the shawl she usually kept around her waist and put it around her shoulders before coming to Elsa's desk and setting down the coffee. She noticed everything in the room was tinted a light apprehensive red. Elsa thanked Anna for the coffee and drank it, smiling a bit now. She seemed to light up more and more as she drank the coffee. The red disappeared, the ice returning to its normal bluish.

"Now, Anna, what were you jabbering about earlier?" Elsa asked, having finished her coffee and looking like her normal self. Anna hated to ruin her mood, especially on her birthday, by having to relate Kristoff's suspicions, and backing it up with Grand Pabbie's statement that she was definitely not there for non-nefarious purposes. Elsa stared at her oddly calm, drumming her fingers on the table thoughtfully.

"Oh...and...happy birthday!" Anna added at the end, trying to lighten up the tense mood. Elsa blinked. "Big 22! Yay!"

"Anna." Elsa said. Anna wrung her hands while looking at her.

"Thanks." Elsa gave her a small smile. Anna blinked, pausing a moment. No ice spikes spawning from the floor, no color changing ice furniture. No snowstorm-not even fractals creeping up the windows. Anna looked at her with an apparently very readable expression, as Elsa stood.

"I can't do anything about it right now, Anna. If I cause any sort of panic by making an announcement or sending someone out to look during the party, things will go haywire. I want to think about this, and possibly ask Grand Pabbie about the whole ordeal."

"Oh...alright." Anna nodded. Elsa smiled and looked at her door. "Go on out and see how things are going, then. I'm sure there is plenty of chocolate." She winked. Anna, though hesitant and wanting to help her sister, did as she suggested and traveled down to the main room to see if there was a substantial amount of chocolate.

Her act had been only to reassure Anna. Elsa was, in fact, very worried about the kingdom with the news of the sorceress. She'd already posted extra guards on all sides of the castle, though she knew if she put to many it would raise suspicion. After the Duke of Weselton's reaction to her "sorcery", she didn't want to see the other kingdom's views on the whole ordeal. So, she put on an act as she usually did and walked to her bed. Nana Fey had, had the seamstresses bring up the dress from the day before, which was now fixed. Elsa still didn't care for it, but she put it on anyhow. Her subconcious was hating her for being so horrible to the seamstresses the day before, and for scaring them.

Just as she was putting on her tiara, there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready, your highness?" That was Fredrick. He sounded eager, and a bit impatient. He was a stickler for being on time. He also probably planned to flirt with the ladies in waiting that were also attending the party. Elsa sighed, nodding to herself and then walking to the door and opening it, looking down at the short statured man before her.

"I'm ready."


	10. The Party - Part 2

Having already had the interesting pleasure of being greeted at the gate by a talking snowman and a friendly reindeer, the regal guests of Elsa's birthday party were inclined to believe she truly was an oddity among rulers. They entered the home and were led to the dancing and dining hall. It was decorated cheerfully with streamers and the like, and the guests marveled at the chandelier with flickering candles in the holders, sending interesting patterns on the walls. When Elsa stepped out, there was a quick cheer before she silenced them with her hand.

"I thank you all for coming upon such short notice." She said so all could hear. "I hope you enjoy the party." And that was it. There was a thankful sort of cheer again, And Elsa stepped down from the stairs she'd been standing on. The staff began walking around with treys of champagne and things to munch on. Elsa grabbed chocolate from one trey that passed by and quickly ate it, smiling to herself as she licked her lips. The only thing she was happy about when it came ot this party was the chocolate. Oh, the chocolate. Anna was already stuffing her face with it by one of the buffet tables, talking with Kristoff, who looked rather uncomfortable in his suit.

Upon turning around, Elsa blinked in surprise at the people standing right there. It was a woman in a lily pink dress with a corset so tight it was a surprise she wasn't dead from the restrictions on her insides. Next to her was a dashing young man with dark hair and eyes who towered over Elsa. Of course, he was a prince.

"Helloooo Queen Elsa!" The woman exclaimed in an overly pompous, drawled out voice. She curtsied in an exaggerated manner and smiled. Elsa nodded, bowing slightly to be polite.

"Salutations, um-"

"Queeeeeen Trevolone of Haninia!" She exclaimed. Everything about this woman was over exaggerated to the point where Elsa wanted to just walk away.

"Ah, yes, uh, Queen Trevolone. Pleasure." She smiled slightly, trying to conceal her distaste at the woman's voice. The woman put a hand on the young man's back and shoved him forward slightly. "And this is my son, Prince Avery!"

"Y-Your Highness." The prince bumbled, bowing. Elsa bowed slightly and noticed him eyeing her hands. She folded them in front of her. He directed his gaze back to her face and smiled a bit shyly.

"He's just finished serving his time in our military, haven't you, Avery?" His mother said boastingly. He only nodded. "He really is brilliant. Amazing aim with a gun-oh and you should see his dancing! Why don't you ask the queen to dance, Avery? I'm sure she'd like dancing with you. He never misses a step! Did I mention-"

"Mother." Said Avery quietly. She silenced a bit but gave him a look to ask Elsa to dance.

"I don't dance." Elsa said in a similar quiet tone to Avery.

"Oh-see that Avery you didn't move quick enough, r-"

"Ma'am," Elsa interrupted, "I don't know how to dance, and I have no intention to learn. It was nice meeting the both of you." Elsa turned on her heel and walked away, over to the buffet table. A servant stopped by and offered Elsa a glass of champagne. She'd never had alcohol before, but decided for once to try it. Taking the bubbly glass, she sipped. She hated the bitter taste, but the feeling of the carbonated liquid running down her throat made up for it. Another woman approached her at that moment, less exaggerated and accompanied by her husband. They greeted her nicely enough, but it didn't take more than two minutes for them to try and introduce her to their son. She again avoided them. Then this happened again. And again, and again, and again. It seemed every woman or man who came up with her was either trying to get her to dance with their son or marry him outright with the prospect of expanding Arendelle. She was tired of this ridiculousness about a half hour into the party and went to Anna, who was just sitting down at one of the tables after dancing with Kristoff.

"Anna," she said quietly, getting her attention. "Tell anyone who asks that I'm going to be temporarily absent."

"Why?"

"Make something up." With that Elsa turned and swept down the hall, her black cape flying after her.

She walked until the sounds of the party faded and leaned against a wall. She was almost feeling claustrophobic -similar to how she near always felt when she'd had to hide her powers from everyone. To calm herself, she let loose a few spouts of snowflakes, shimmering, making them dance better than she ever could. She then stopped herself abruptly and went around to the back courtyard. It was by the bridge that led into the city, but faced out to the harbor. It had flowers blooming in ornate pots around it, and a couple benches carved from rich granite around the red Spanish brickwork laid down in a large circle. She was stopped at the steps leading to this said courtyard by the surprising sight of Hans, dressed in a short sleeved peasant shirt and loosely fitting pants and boots, sitting on one of these benches with a piece of paper in his hand. She was stuck there like a doe; unsure and a bit nervous of approaching. The interaction of the horse ride that had ended so badly crossed her mind, and then when she caught him chuckling at her and Anna's antics at the ungodly hour when he'd first started working there. Both times he'd done nothing, not even seemed really very agitated (even when she kicked him in the crotch).

Making her mind up rather quickly, Elsa continued forward. Her footsteps attracted his attention, and Hans turned and then immediatly stood.

"Your Highness."

"Hans." She said evenly, motioning for him to sit, which he did. Without asking she sat down next to him, finding it personally to awkward to sit on another one of the benches with a person there already.

"Why aren't you at your party?" He asked.

"To be blunt, Hans, the entire half hour nearly everyone who has approached me wants me to marry their son, and usually for political reasons."

"It'll advantage your kingdom, we can became a singular kingdom with the unity, it'll help your exports, etc., etc.?" He continued, smirking slightly.

She looked at him, both of them sensing the awkward casualty that had snaked its way into they being in each other's company. She felt both slightly apprehensive and unusually open. She decided she shouldn't be drinking champagne.

"Basically."

"Knew it." Hans chuckled just slightly and looked forward, gazing at the bright moon that had risen in the sky, its glory reflected in the smooth Arendelle waters. "Every time."

"Every time?"

"It'll be like this every time. Every birthday you have, every holiday party, every other celebration you attend. There's always going to be someone trying to play matchmaker."

"You sound experienced in this." She commented.

He snorted, slowly rolling up the letter in his hand, a smile that was somewhat a smirk sticking on his face. "Every birthday, every holiday party, every other celebration."

"You were constantly having young princesses thrown at you, hm? To much for your poor little mind to bear?" Her tone was a bit more unsympathetic than she aimed for, but she didn't try to correct herself. He snorted again.

"Basically any woman that could breath was thrown my way. Not just by the parents, but by my parents. They wanted to marry me off as quickly as possible."

"Oh but I thought you aimed for power?" Elsa said, rather snidely, and this time with no remorse, outside or inside.

"That was kind of a later development." He looked at her sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. In the moonlight Elsa noted his skin had become well and evenly tanned, and the only hands she'd seen as tough as his were Kristoff's. She subconciously rubbed her dainty, soft hands together at this thought.

"So you weren't always a power hungry and worthless human being?" Elsa said. Hans looked at her. "As a matter of fact, Your Highnipants," he said this with such child-like mockery and contempt that Elsa suddenly saw how Anna took a liking to him so quickly, "I was one of the best of the litter, far as behavior goes. My tutors loved me, the guards loved me, and I was a chubby kid because the cooks always gave me sweets for being "such a darling"."

"What the hell happened." Elsa said rather amusedly.

"Why do you care?" Hans said, suddenly apprehensive.

"Curiosity."

"Uh huh."

"So?"

"I never said I was going to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because...because."

"Because, because...what?"

Hans just seemed frustrated at this point. "Why are you even talking to me? You've scarcely said a word to me since the horse incident and suddenly you show up and-"

"Why were you listening at my door?" Elsa said suddenly, trying to avoid him blowing up, or anything else of the like.

He stopped and blinked. "I-well-um-I-" He paused. "I'll tell you if you answer the question I have afterwards."

"Fair enough." Elsa found herself saying.

"Alright. I was going on to ask if you needed anything done and heard music when I was going to knock on your door and stopped to listen."

Elsa's cheeks flushed. "Y-You heard me playing?"

"Yes. You play a ravishing harp." Hans smirked. Elsa turned her head, putting her hand in front of her face. She'd never known anyone could hear her from her room.

"I also heard you singing."

Oh great. Like that helped anything.

"So, now it's my turn to ask a question."

Though she wanted to say no, get up and tell him to go muck out the stalls though they'd just been done, or weed the garden though it had no weeds, or something to get him away, she swallowed the icy breath trying to work its way up her throat and nodded.

"What were you singing?" He asked. All her previous fears of the question flew away in an instant, and she turned to him, her cheeks just slightly rosy. "I...was...it's an old song, passed down through the ages in Arendelle. It's...about, well..."

Hans cocked his head at her, saying quietly yet still singing, "born of cold and winter air, and mountain rain combining, this icy force both foul and fair has a frozen heart worth mining."

She nodded. "T-That's it..."

"It's about you."

"Well...I," she laughed nervously, "I wouldn't say that."

"You can do the ice magical thingy." He said. "That means your "born of cold and winter air and mountain rain" I'd think."

"Ice magical thingy." She looked at him, her nose crinkling up in amusement. "What are you, five?"

"Maybe." Hans said jokingly.

"Explains, so much." She said, sweeping her hand. The ice she'd been holding in from earlier released itself, coating the circle of the courtyard. She covered her mouth. "Oh, for the love of-"

"It's...purple." He said curiously, looking at her. "You didn't mean to do that, did you?"

"Yes." Elsa lied. Hans just nodded a bit, looking at it. He scuffed his boot on the slick surface and chuckled. There was a silence or a bit, which was neither comfortable or uncomfortable. It was simply there, allowing both occupants of the rich granite bench in the back courtyard enjoy the silence and semi-solitude as they stared at the glimmering reflection of the moon.

A gust of wind suddenly blew, causing Elsa's lightweight cape to become air-born and smack Hans in the face. Unsuspecting of such a thing happening, Hans began to awkwardly thrash about to rid himself of the black mass that had blinded him. Shamefaced, Elsa tried to take the cape off of Hans, but it seemed to get caught around his head, though this was illogical. Finding herself unable to tug it off, as well as unable to reach the frantic Hans, she stood, the gust of wind having gone from a gust to a full blown stream of air. Not thinking to simply unclip it from her shoulders, Elsa stood and went in front of him to try and pull it off. Confused by the movement of the cape, Hans stood and ended up tumbling forward into Elsa. A quick reaction is the only thing that prevented both from falling to the ground upon contact with Elsa's previously created ice-spot, with Hans locking his legs before he went into a split and catching Elsa like he saved females from falling to the ground all the time. The wind miraculously changed direction at this very moment and blew the cape off of Hans and out, into the wind. Awkwardly they both stood there, catching their breath and staring at each other's faces. Elsa noticed Hans's eyes were as green as polished emeralds. Hans noticed that, with her still evident blush, Elsa had faint freckles that were hidden with her usually ghostly pale skin. It wasn't long, though, before another event postponed any other action, as a staff member ran out to report a party crasher. Hans quickly stood and let go of Elsa, who stood on the ice much more easily than he. He slipped off as she walked off, both looking at the ground as the staff member pondered what they'd just witnessed. Elsa passed the servant and went on to the party room, where two guards were holding a young woman in a scanty dress with dark raven curls and red pointed nails.  
===============  
In all her years Miss Serpentine had never been caught. She'd come damn close, but she'd never been actually caught. How this happened, she truly didn't know. They had posted extra guards, but she was simply going to stay to the shadows and continue on up the side of the castle and through a window. But, as if by magic, a guard came up out of the blue and snatched her down and declared her a party crasher. Another guard had joined and she'd been uncerimoniously dragged in here.

So, she was ungodily pissed.

When seeing the pretty little thing they called a queen, Miss Serpentine had to refrain from scoffing. She was skinny as a rail and dainty as a china doll. Her complexion was similar to a snow man and her hair was silver as a grandmothers, but had a youthful glow that was the only indication besides her figure that she was not ancient. Her stature was trying to be intimidating, and her stone faced walk down the stairs to Miss Serpentine attempted to show maturity; but it only succeeded in making her scoff inwardly.

"So, decided to have a little fun, hm?" Said the queen calmly, seeming to let a little life into her face.

"Let me go." Miss Serpentine said. "I wasn't doing anything."

"She was climbing up the side of the castle, Your Highness." Said one guard.

"Yes, we caught her there! She was heading in to sabotage your party!" The other added.

Miss Serpentine pressed her lips in a thin, dangerous line. The queen looked at her for a long time, and then looked to the side. Miss Serpentine followed her gaze and saw the innocent, doe-like Princess. She shrugged a bit and then shook her head. The queen turned back to Miss Serpentine.

"You're not a citizen of Arendelle."

"Thank God." Miss Serpentine exclaimed loudly. She wasn't usually much one for trouble, but one did not simply capture her.

The queen, if agitated, hid it. "Guards, lead this woman off the grounds and make sure she is escorted to wherever she is staying."

"Yes, my Queen." The guards said in unison before starting to lead her away among the whispers of the party go-ers.

In that moment, plans changed. Flicking her wrists supposedly erratically, Miss Serpentine began whispering out the dire consequences that would befall the young queen unfortunate enough to have had an un-scripted run in with Miss Serpentine.


	11. An Attack

Waking the next morning, the slightly hung-over Queen of Arendelle was grumpy to begin with. When she first looked at herself in the mirror, her hair resembled that of Frankenstein's bride. She nearly broke her brush taming it. She was also very, very tired for some reason. She dressed in her usual icy gown before exiting her room. She walked down the hall, heading to the dining room below, finding Hans at the stairs. He was standing there, duster in hand, staring down the stairs and at the door.

"What in God's name are you doing gawking at a door." She snapped at him, her head throbbing slightly. Hans jumped and looked at her.

"Oh. Hi." He looked at the steps then at her. "I was just thinking."

"Well, whatever it is, it isn't important and in the way of your work." Elsa began down the stairs.

"But it's a fun idea." He said, stopping her on one of the first steps. She turned, glaring. "Oh, really? It's fun, hm?" She gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Yes." He said. He seemed to have gained confidence since the night before, and it agitated Elsa.

"Oh, what is it then?" She crossed her arms, face emotionless.

"If you iced over the stairs and out to the courtyard it would make for some fun sledding." He said, grinning a bit. Elsa's face didn't change.

"What are you, five?"

"Yes."

Elsa was about to tell Hans off when Anna appeared, looking chipper as usual.

"What's going on?"

"Hans is being ridiculous." Elsa said in a rather nasty tone, portraying her overall mood on this oddly sunny day.

"Oh really?" Anna's face suddenly changed, looking to Hans.

"She's just grumpy." He said, smirking. "Because I came up with a funner idea than she ever would."

"Funner isn't a word!" Elsa snapped, throwing her hands in the air.

"It is now."

"Wait, wait, hold on, Hans what did you do to anger my sister?" Anna was looking between the two.

"I said that it would be fun to ice over the stairs out into the courtyard for sledding."

"Yes," Elsa rolled her eyes, "it's-"

"The best idea EVER!" Anna squealed, bouncing. "That would be AMAZING!"

"You too?!" Elsa grabbed a hold of the railing of the stairs, icing it over. Anna continued bouncing.

"Yes!"

"What are you, five?!" Elsa said again. Anna nodded, hopping down the stairs and grabbing Elsa by the shoulders. "You should do it! Really, really it would be AWESOME! We could sled down the stairs like WOOOOSH and then in the courtyard and spin around like WEEEEE!"

Elsa stared at her. "You've got to be kidding me."

"NOPE! Please Elsa! Please!" Anna put on huge puppy dog eyes and clasped her hands together, bouncing even higher and whimpering. The growing pounding in her head was the only reason Elsa went up the stairs, dragging Anna with her, and then let loose the ice, which went under the partial gap under the door and out.

"There." Elsa then went down the stairs as if it was nothing and left.

"I'M GETTING MY SLED!" Anna shouted, smashing into Hans in her hurry to get to her room.

===============

Once there Anna saw Kristoff. He was shirtless with sleep tousled hair, curled up in the blankets. After the party crasher had shown up, Elsa had indulged in a few more glasses of champagne, making it possible for Kristoff and Anna to sneak off to her room near the end of the party. Nothing had happened but some damn fierce cuddling. And Anna learned Kristoff snored.

A lot.

She walked around the bed carefully to the other side, assuming Kristoff was asleep. He surprised her, though, by grabbing her around the waist and bringing her to him and rolling over so they lay facing each other on their sides.

"Mornin'." He grinned. Anna grinned back, giggling madly.

"Kristoff!" She kissed him. He kissed her back and ran his fingers through her hair. "What's on my princesses' agenda today?"

"Elsa iced over the stairs so we can sled out into the courtyard!"

Kristoff blinked. "That's the most amazing thing ever."

"I know, right?" Anna grinned before rolling out of bed. "Get dressed and lets go!"

Kristoff just nodded, yawning a bit and getting out, only in his underwear, which still made Anna giggle. He pulled on pants and his shirt and then shook his head wildly as his method to make it look presentable.

"Think your sister will find out?"

"Nah. She'd too much of a grumpy pants today to care anyway." Anna grabbed her sled as she spoke, delighting in the fact she got to use it again before winter. Kristoff raised an eyebrow.

"Hung-over?"

"Probably. Or maybe she's just angry at that lady last night."

"The party crasher?"

"Yeah."

Kristoff took his suit and shoved it under Anna's bed. Elsa didn't really even come into the warzone known as her little sister's room, so it probably wouldn't be found until they married (which Kristoff surely hoped would happen in time). It was at this moment, thinking over the slight fog that came from the drinks Kristoff himself had had the night before (though only succeeding in fogging his memory), that Kristoff seemed to have some recolection of the party crasher. It was a woman, yes. With dark raven curls and...he couldn't remember the rest. Before he could think long and hard on it, he was pulled by Anna out of the room and down to the stairs. She set the sled up and got on, motioning for Kristoff to get on behind her.

"Hon, I'm gonna tip it if I'm on back."

Anna stopped and then got up, put him on front, and then got on the back. "Alright, now lets go."

With that they were off, sliding down the stairs exhilaratingly fast, zipping past Hans, who was standing down by the trail of ice, and right through the doors that were already open (presumably by Hans). They whizzed out into the icy courtyard where a few villagers strayed. They laughed and spun, bouncing off the fountains and a few ice sculptures about (which looked suspiciously lifelike) until their momentum wore off and they came to a stop right outside the courtyard.

"Lets do that again!" Kristoff said gleefully, jumping up. Anna jumped up as well, nodding rapidly and then running across the ice haphazardly with Kristoff, who carried the sled. They repeated their earlier sledding, much to the amusement of the few villagers present. This enjoyment came to an unexpected halt on their fifth run, when a rotund man with rosy cheeks and a red nose who honestly resembled a younger Santa Clause came running up, slipping on the ice in the process.

"Woah, there!" Kristoff went over and helped the flustered individual up. "You alright?"

"I must speak with Queen Elsa-I must speak with her now! Today! immediately!" His tone was loud, but not angered. Terrified.

"Sir, what happened?!" Anna came over quickly, slipping a bit and bracing herself on Kristoff.

"Something awful-terrible!"

Anna thought quickly, imaging the irritable Elsa at the moment and thinking how snappy she might be with a hysterical villager at the moment. "Sir, let me help you. My sister is, er, well I can help you just as well."

The man stopped and looked at her before bowing. "Thank you, Princess. It's quite urgent."

Anna gave him a reassuring smile. "How bad could it be?"

"I should never make assumptions." Anna mumbled, staring at the crystalized wreck that was once Peter Aker's bakery. The man lived outside of the village a couple miles, just outside the woods near the castle. He told them he'd gotten up that morning, intending to bake bread to sell in town, only to find this.

It was basically rubble. His stone oven was scattered all around. The walls were in shambles; torn and strewn about, nails here, there, and everywhere accompanied by various baking ingredients tossed to the ground in piles of wasted goods. But it wasn't ordinary shambling. It was ice shambling. Ice coated the ground, the oven, the stone strewn about and the wood that joined the rest of the wreckage. It coated the ground as if someone had dropped a big container of water that broke and then froze. It was utterly terrifying.

"That...how did you not hear this?!" Anna gestured to the mess rather dumbfounded.

"I was on the other side of the village, Princess Anna, visiting my sister." Said Peter, who was wringing his hands. "I come in from the back path when I take my cart since it isn't as steep and...it was so dark I didn't notice anything. I just wanted to get in and-and I don't know what happened! The only person-or-well the only anything with ice powers here is your sister but, I mean, she is a lovely queen I do-"

"She's never do something like this." Anna said quickly, staring. Kristoff slowly started inspecting things, but stopped soon as his foot touched the ice, for his boot became encased in it. He quickly and carefully removed his foot from the boot and stared.

"That defiantly is not Elsa's magic." Anna said quietly, taking the shawl she usually kept with her and dropping it on the ice. It was incased within seconds, glinting menacingly; not melting despite the strong sun. They all were quiet, staring. Kristoff took leaves and needles from trees and tossed it at the ice. They became incased, as well as the grass and dirt chunks Anna threw, and the loaf of bread Peter added.

"Whatever it touches is frozen..." Anna murmured.

"This is freaking weird." Kristoff shook his head, still thinking on the party crasher. Raven locks and...

"What am I to do?!" Exclaimed Peter in sorrow. "This is my business! My way of life! I don't have any other way to make money, all my supplies and-"

"Please, calm down Mr. Aker." Anna said quickly over his periled drabbles. "Just don't go near it. We'll...we'll make sure you're taken care of. No Arendelle resident will be left uncared for, especially considering these...circumstances." She looked at it again, and then around at the woods. "Guards will be sent out here soon enough, alright?"

Peter nodded as he trembled. "Yes, yes thank you Princess Anna-thank you so m-"

"THE HOT LADY!" Kristoff shouted suddenly. Anna whirled around.

"The what now?" She raised a suspicious eyebrow while crossing her arms.

"No time-Grand Pabbie-Now-Don't kill me-" Kristoff grabbed Anna's arm and rushed away from Peter Aker's house, through the woods and down, all the while thinking rapidly as the fog of the night before slowly drifted away.


	12. Sledding, A Sorceress, and Cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy. Glad too see the hits increasing on this :) Don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you liked, it's much appreciated. :3

"I-I-The sorceress I told you about."

"...You called a evil sorceress "the hot lady"?" Anna ripped her hand from his and crossed her arms.

"Can we forget what I called her and focus?" Kristoff pleaded. Anna stuck her lower lip out. Kristoff spontaneously kissed her, deeply, passionately. When he separated, Anna looked dazed.

"Where we going?" She grinned lopsidedly.

Kristoff smiled, took her hand, and they ran the rest of the way to the Valley of Living Rock.

When they reached the Valley, Kristoff looked around for the rolled form of Grand Pabbie. He stepped around his relatives carefully, really not wanting to attract any attention. Finally, he found the boulder that was his grandfather. He heaved him up and carried him out to the other side of the Valley circle, setting him down. Grand Pabbie unrolled, giving Kristoff an odd look.

"You could have just waked me." He said, standing.

"Yeah, sorry." Kristoff glanced back, relieved to see all the other rocks were still sleeping, as they often did. Grand Pabbie looked to the side and smiled politely at Anna.

"Hello Anna, it's been awhile since I've seen you."

Anna smiled, partial to the old boulder. "Hello Grand Pabbie."

"You seem to be fairing well, how's Elsa?" He asked as he always did. Anna visited Grand Pabbie and the rest of the family occasionally, and, though she often couldn't due to some queenly duty she had to attend to, Elsa would come to see Grand Pabbie from time to time.

"She's...grumpy today." Anna shrugged a bit.

"Ah, well I'm sure she'll-"

"Look, the chit-chat is great right now, but we've got something important, Grand Pabbie." Kristoff reluctantly interrupted all while giving Anna a bit of a look, who rubbed the back of her neck.

"Important enough for you to be rude?" Grand Pabbie asked, raising an eyebrow. Kristoff groaned at the old rock's intolerance for bad manners and rubbed his face.

"It's about the sorceress." Kristoff said. Now Grand Pabbie looked forgiving for his interruption.

"Tell me all about it."  
===================

When no one else was present, Hans took the opportunity to fetch one of the metal platter dishes Mrs. Nork used for Elsa's birthday party and slide down the stairs. He got to the bottom and went outside, but because the platter was more flat than anything, giving Hans nothing to hold onto, he was thrown across the ice, out the courtyard, and rolled along the cobblestone until he slammed into a large plot of open Earth. He laid in a daze until he was able to collect himself and get up, brushing dirt off his clothes as he did so.

"Took a mighty fall, didn't you?"

Hans knew that voice all to well. He turned to the rather galling Fredrick, who stood with his hands behind his back, smirking.

"Having fun dawdling, Hans?"

"Oh be quiet, Fredrick. The stairs are iced over and I wanted to slide down them." Hans rolled his eyes, looking around and scooping up the letter that had fallen out of his back pocket from the dirt, dusting it off.

"What are you, five?" Fredrick looked amused.

"Yes!"

Fredrick rolled his eyes. "Well, seeing as you're done with your fun for the day, I have a few things for you to-"

"You leave him alone, Fredrick." Coming to the rescue was Mrs. Nork with a large basket of vegetables in her hands. Fredrick turned and rolled his eyes again. Mrs. Nork whacked him over the head with a carrot.

"Ow, woman!"

Mrs. Nork ignored Fredrick and the rest of his protests as she shooed him off and smiled at Hans. "You ok, honey?"

Hans smiled a little bit. "Yeah, thanks Mrs. Nork."

She nodded. "You're welcome dear. Ol' Fredrick shouldn't be bossing you around as much as he does. Your job may be to do, well, everything, but all he gives you is crazy things like, um-"

"Polish only the tips of the forks, clean the eatery cabinets five times within a half hour period, make sure the trees stand at a ninety degree angle, balance the royal checkbook-"

"The what?"

"Haven't a clue. I usually take a nap when he tells me to do that." Hans grinned a bit. Mrs. Nork laughed and patted his shoulder. "You go wash up honey."

Hans nodded, smiling a bit. "Want help with that basket?"

"Oh, no, I'm not going to be a bother to you."

So Hans just took the basket, and Mrs. Nork smiled. She hated admitting she needed help a lot of the time, but she more than often gave Hans a bulk of his work to keep him from ever having to do the jobs Fredrick and some of the other more vengeful staff would heap on him. Most the jobs were what the other staff actually needed help with or needed done, and most the time he had to do the things he knew she needed help with voluntarily. But, he didn't mind. Mrs. Nork was really the only friend he had. He'd formed a soft spot for her, and he'd probably admit it. Once inside the house he helped her pass the ice on the stairs and then carried the vegetables to the kitchen and set them down. She gave him a small piece of hard candy and patted his arm, thanking him repeatedly, blowing up his work to be more than it was like one would encourage a child. He didn't mind, chuckled, and said it was his pleasure before popping the candy in his mouth and going up to his room to change.  
======================

Elsa was irritable through breakfast, where she threw porridge at one of the staff before lowering the temperature in the room drastically when she realized what's she'd done. She nearly pierced an ambassador from Spain with ice at a meeting, and she'd frozen several tapestries solid as she went about, muttering to herself on inane things that made no logical sense but frustrated her all the while. She was so caught up in her own little frenzied, frustrated world she forgot where she was going. She'd been aiming for the North tower, which held a small library that she'd often been able to escape to when she was a child. Instead, she ended up going up the winding stairs of the South tower, where Hans was staying. Elsa busted open the door, still muttering to herself, making it to the middle of the room before she stopped and looked around. The walls were bare of bookshelves, and there was only a rather crummy looking large wardrobe. Slowly turning on her heel, Elsa gasped and covered her mouth, a red blush rising to her cheeks.

On a sagging cot was Hans, a silver tin on his knee, a cookie halfway to a mouth already puffed up like a squirrel, wearing nothing but his underwear.  
=====================  
Meanwhile, Kristoff had explained about the "party crasher" from the night before and how he'd figured out who it was. Anna added in her tidbits, telling the story of the ice that coated anything it touched and how it was all over Peter Aker's bakery. Grand Pabbie listened quietly, his expression that of intense listening, creases in his face crackling slightly as they deepened with the story.

"I see." He muttered and rolled away. He came back with a book. "This, this book," he gestured the old leather-bound piece of history with yellow pages that were occasionally loose, "is a book of spells."

"Like what witches use in the fairytales?" Anna asked curiously.

"No, no." Grand Pabbie smiled slightly as he shook his head. "This book simply tells the spells. What causes them, you know, like whether they need ingrediants or are just a special chant. Their effects, how long they last, ex-etera ex-etera."

"Oh, are you going to look for the spell that caused this?"

Grand Pabbie handed the book over to her. "You are." He brought another book seemingly out of nowhere and handed it to Kristoff. "So are you. I have time to help if you find something, or don't find something, but I have other things I have to attend to. You can handle this, right?"

Kristoff nodded, handing the other book to Anna, who was wrapping them in a large handkerchief she customarily carried with her. "What other business do you have to attend to?"

"I have a meeting with the council in," Grand Pabbie looked to the side. "Oh dear, right now. I have to go, immediately." Grand Pabbie thanked them for coming to him so quickly and probably making him less late that he would have been (knowing Grand Pabbie was prone to sleeping in) and rolled off as fast as possible. Anna looked after him and then to Kristoff.

"Council?"

Kristoff started walking down the path toward the castle, Anna following. When she was at his side he rested a hand on her hip so she didn't trail back, letting them fall into a steady pace together.

"Well, I'm sure you've guessed the trolls aren't the only magical or mystical beings or creatures in Arendelle."

Anna hadn't given it much thought, but nodded.

"Right. There's a council for them, and they meet every month or week or something to discuss stuff like, uh, if they are hidden enough or if someone broke the laws they set up to keep themselves and the "mundane", or humans, safe. Grand Pabbie represents all the trolls and is one of the leading council members since he's so old and wise and all that."

"Oooooooh...had no idea there was like...well a whole world like that, different from ours." She mused. "I mean, I knew there was magic, like, everywhere, and there was good and bad, but not like that, all organized and stuff."

Kristoff shrugged. "It's the same all over the world. They all meet here once a year, every single council, to make sure nothing is really screwed up."

"They meet here? In Arendelle?" Anna said in surprise, feeling kind of proud of the humble kingdom hosting something so important sounding.

"Well, just recently. Since Elsa left that castle up there they figured it'd be perfect since no one goes up there, and with Marshmallow as a sort of guard, it's perfectly secure."

"Wow." Anna nodded, looking up at the castle and sighing. "What's Elsa going to think about this."


	13. The Second Attack

"Uh..." Hans looked from her, to the cookie, to his lack of clothing, and then back to her. "Hello."

Elsa was covering her mouth, and her blush had reached a whole new magnitude. "I-Um-I-Uh-"

With no clothes in sight, Hans really didn't attempt to cover himself. "Um...why are you here?"

"W-Why are you p-practically naked!" Elsa squealed, covering her eyes but looking through her fingers.

"Because I'm in my room. I normally don't expect the queen to come prancing in." He smirked a bit.

"W-Why are you so c-calm!"

"Because I'm not the one staring at a practical stranger in their underwear." He put the cookies back in their tin.

"You're-you're-"

"Disgusting?"

"Yes!"

Elsa had never felt more-more-damn, she didn't know what. Flustered? Embarrassed? Scared? All three? She turned away. "I-I'll just be going now."

"You do that." Hans stood, placing the tin back in his closet. Just as she was going to go down the stairs, a voice rang through the air.

"OOOOOHHH HAAAANNNSSS!"

She froze, backing up. "Oh no."

"That's Fredrick..." Hans said in sudden alarm. Elsa continued again, only to be pulled back. She ripped her arm away from Hans, her blush having possibly moved from her face to her neck like some sort of sunburn.

"I know this is unnecessarily awkward, but do you really want to be seen coming down the stairs and then have Fredrick see me in my underwear?"

"P-Put some clothes on!" She stammered. Whistling drifted up the stairs.

"There isn't enough time, he's more than halfway up by now. Hell, if I get pants on that still looks really bad for you. And your head kind of looks like a tomato now."

"This is getting us n-nowhere!" She exclaimed in a hurried whisper. Hans looked at the stairs and then at his wardrobe, and then to her. She copied him and then, with pursed lips and still red cheeks, went to the wardrobe and stepped in, crouching with her cape drawn around her body, gardening tools on the sides and shirts and pants hanging above her head. Hans grabbed a pair of pants and then looked at her.

"Terribly sorry."

"Close the damn door." Elsa hissed in a moment of uncharacteristic profanity. Hans did so, where Elsa could still see out of a crack in the door. In came Fredrick, right when Hans was halfway done putting his pants on. Fredrick didn't looked phased.

"Why do you insist on laying around near naked so often." He crinkled his nose.

"Why do you insist on coming into my room unannounced?" Hans retorted, taking a sash of sorts and tying it tightly around his waist.

"Because I can."

"Oh, so you enjoy the view?" Hans made his pecks bounce. Elsa covered her mouth, grinning beneath her hand.

"Haha, don't flatter yourself." Fredrick rolled his eyes. "I've got work for you to do, and there's no Mrs. Nork to save your lazy butt."

"Last I recall, you've gained some weight since I showed up, Fredrick." Hans sneered. Elsa found this Hans interesting. She'd never seen him flaunt such a smart mouth.

"Shut up, boy." Fredrick glared. "Didn't your parents teach you to be kind to your elders?"

"Sorry, Gramps," Hans snorted, taking his boots from under his bed, "I don't exactly have anything to loose smart mouthing an old tyrant."

"I am not a tyrant!" Fredrick yelled. Hans stopped midway putting on a boot and stared at him. Fredrick stared back. Hans finished putting on his boot.

"What kind of work you got for me, Gramps?" He said, unimpressed.

"Don't call me that!"

"I haven't got anything to loose, Gramps." Hans said calmly, smirking. Elsa was grinning like an idiot.

"I'll report you to Elsa!"

Hans stood right up. "Go on, then!"

Fredrick seemed startled a moment. Elsa began piecing a few things together, figuring Hans didn't act like this usually. She thought of his submissive, docile self when he went about doing his work and couldn't help but smile a little. There were several sides to Hans. One was quiet, calm, controlled. This one was brash, witty, and un-phased, but not threatening. She rather liked it, finding it entertaining.

"I will!" Fredrick turned on his heel and stomped out of the room. Hans stood, staring down the staircase. Both listened until the footsteps were no longer heard. Hans went to the closet and opened it.

"Entertained?"

"Mildly." Elsa tried to water down her grin, but failed.

"Good to know." Like a gentleman, Hans offered his hand. Elsa took it as she got out of the wardrobe, having a few issues untangling herself from her cape that Hans gently helped with. Once they were settled, Elsa turned to Hans.

"Thank you greatly for your help."

"Thanks for not getting caught." He chuckled lightly. Elsa smiled slightly.

"I'm, um, going to go now."

"You do that."

"You do realize he forgot to give you work, right?" Elsa asked as she walked to the stairway.

"He he, yes."

Elsa turned her head to se him grinning like a child. She grinned back and slowly went down the stairs. At the bottom she began down the hall towards the correct tower.

"That was an interesting experience." She spoke to herself, half-mindedly creating little ice patterns with her fingers. "Never thought I'd see such a thing like that. Never, never." She shook her head, swirling her fingers so a dollar sized fox appeared, gleaming ice. It jumped from her fingers and into the air, gliding on patterns she formed as she went. "Such a shameful sight, but, oh my goodness, enjoyable."

Shocked by her own words, Elsa began giggling madly. She never thought something like this-something so shameful as seeing a man who wasn't your husband near naked- would make her feel so delighted.

"Elsa!"

Elsa stopped her giggling abruptly and turned. There was Anna and Kristoff.

"Oh. Hello Anna, Kristoff." She smiled a bit. Anna stopped in front of her.

"Are you in a good mood?"

Elsa nodded, surprising herself. Anna frowned.

"Aw. Well, um," she glanced at Kristoff, "come and, um, see this."

"What...happened?" Elsa said breathlessly upon seeing the wreck that was Peter Aker's bakery.

"Well...something...icy?" Anna semi shrugged, coming to her sisters side, right at the edge where Kristoff's boot was frozen to the ground. "Everything it touches freezes."

"Everything?"

Anna gestured to the pine needles, her shawl, loaf of bread, and dirt clods. "Everything."

Elsa breathed out frost as she crouched down by the ice and observed it. It sparkled unnaturally, gleaming like a menacing force that beckoned Elsa to just touch it, but she didn't. Despite the urge that nearly made her hands shake, she didn't.

She stood again and looked at the two guards they'd brought along with them. "Gentlemen, please step back."

"Yes, my Queen." They said while doing so.

Stepping back herself, Elsa breathed deeply and swept her hands down, slowly bringing them up again in a circular shape, an icy dome rising as she did so. When it was finished, she added spikes around it with a few flicks of her fingers. "There we go. That will keep anyone safe from touching the...infected disaster inside."

The guards took their places at the dome. Elsa turned back to Anna and Kristoff. "You spoke to Grand Pabbie about this?"

"Yes. Um, it was that party crasher-she was the sorceress, Elsa. The one I told you about."

Elsa pursed her lips, turning back to the dome. "She must have done this after the guards escorted her out...oh, I knew I shouldn't have simply let her go!" Elsa stomped, ice jutting out. She backed away quickly and cursed herself as she made it disappear.

"Elsa-Elsa please calm down! It was just once, we can fix this. Besides, it's so far out here I think we can keep it from everyone else." Anna said, trying to calm her sister. Elsa just slowly breathed and nodded. "Let's go back to the castle. You've got that book of spells you were talking about, Kristoff?"

"There are two." He said, taking out the books Anna had wrapped up in her handkerchief. Elsa took them and unwrapped them, handing the handkerchief back to Anna and then making a frosty one of her own, unintentionally tinted red that showed Elsa's distress. She held it to her chest.

"I'll look over these tonight. I rather you two check around and try and find that woman. Use any means necessary to bring her to the castle, but be safe. Understand?"

They both nodded.

"Good then." Elsa told the guards to keep their posts, and that they would be relieved later in the night. "I'm going to go tend to these." She tapped the books. Anna and Kristoff nodded again.

"We'll go look for the witchy lady." Kristoff jerked his thumb back. Elsa smiled a bit, chuckling.

"Oh, she isn't the hot lady anymore, hm?" Anna crossed her arms. Kristoff groaned. "Can you just let it go?"

"Not until you make up for it." She grinned maliciously.

"How do I have to make up for this?" He asked as they began walking.

"I'll find a waaaay!" Anna sang, skipping in front of him. Elsa grinned as she watched. They were so cute. Her mood was again sombered when she turned her attention to the books and began walking back to the castle, without escort (despite the insistence of one of the guards). She went along the forest path, listening to the singing birds and light breeze ruffle the leaves on the trees. The scuffle of animals on the floor, squeaks and chirps accompanying in a sort of forest orchestra led by the sunlight filtering through the leaves, bringing the life to the forest. Elsa hoped this would cheer her up slightly, or at least remove the mass from the pit of her stomach that seemed to be causing her pain in such a way she couldn't muster a smile. All of this was crazy, insane. Stupid. She should have never let the woman go so easily; should have kept her in the dungeon for the night. That would teach a lesson. She would have never thought of doing such a thing to that man's bakery then, would she? No, no of course not. She wouldn't. Right?

Once at the castle, Elsa passed all the staff wordlessly, only sparing a wave of her hand to Mrs. Nork and, coincidentally, Hans, who were both working on one of the clocks. She passed her room as well, deciding to go to her library refuge in the North Tower. Once she'd climbed up the winding steps, she stopped in the middle of the room and breathed. Books covered the walls. A large, plush chair fit for two was beside one, a table on the other side of it and a footstool ready to be utilized sat on a circular rug with the Arendelle coat of arms sewn into it.

Taking off her heels, Elsa settled herself into the chair, draping her cape off to the side, memories of hours spent reading books in safe solitude coming back, calming her. She placed the books on the side and unwrapped them, taking the one on the top. It didn't even have a title on it. Only a golden stamp of a sparkling flower in the middle of worn and frayed leather cover, encasing thin, yellowed pages that Elsa turned as delicately as she could.

"Wow..." She whispered, marveling at the spells inside, illustrated by fading ink pictures. One showed a woman breathing fire. Another was a town engulfed by a black smog. Yet another showed green goop in a pool. There was a cursed corset, a green goblin-like creature that was once human. Werewolves, vampires. Spells that caused poverty and bad luck. Spells to cause famine, pain-to torture until ones eyes fell out, or to make someone a shell of what they once were. Spells that turned people into monsters at sundown-there was even a spell to turn the very ocean into blood (though that required a hundred witches and wizards to accomplish, and hadn't been performed since the dark ages). The book was so rich in detail that Elsa couldn't hope to put it down. She read it on and on, late into the night until she dozed off.

"QUEEN ELSA!"

Elsa jolted up, finding herself in her room, her hair a mess. Confused, she turned her head to see Hans.

"Mffrt?"

Hans blinked. "Uh-there's been something terrible-a shop in the town square! It's-it's blown up-smithereens of whatever it was and-and completely encased in ice!"


	14. A Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks all for the Kudos and such on this story :3 For anyone who is wondering, this was originally written in 2013 and I now utilize the different between "to" and "too", and can also space dialogue correctly...most the time. XD

Elsa had never moved faster in her life. Once ready she ran down the stairs and out, all the way to the town. She stopped, panting as she went through the crowd that made way for her, all exclaiming in a jumbled mass of words what had happened. She stopped at the edge of a semicircle that was surrounding the wreck that was once a shop. A villager came forward, her hair in a wild mess and cheeks tearstained.

"M-My Queen!" She fell to her knees, lip quivering. "My Queen, my Queen! Something had done this, my Queen, something...awful, awful so...so aw-awful..." She was reducing to tears, rubbing her face with her sleeve while trying to stand. Elsa slowly, without removing her eyes from the wreckage, crouched down and put a hand on either of the woman's shoulders, making her stop her gobbling and sniff. Elsa turned her head to the woman.

"Please calm down, miss. What is your name?" Her tone was cool, calm and collected. Everything she wasn't right now.

"M-Marie MacMae, m-my Queen." She blubbered, swallowing.

"Do you have a family, Marie?" Elsa asked smoothly, bringing the woman to her feet. Everyone around the circle was silent, stunned. A royal, even Elsa, known for being humble and walking among the townsfolk on occasion, touching and comforting a subject in such a manner was unheard of.

"Y-Yes My Queen. H-Husband and my boy." She stammered.

"Are they alright?"

Marie nodded quickly, pointing to where a man stood with his hand on a boy's shoulder. Elsa slowly put a leading hand on the woman's upper back, walking over to them. The young boy stared with wide eyes up at her.

"Mister MacMae?" She said to the man, who nodded. She slowly eased Marie towards her husband, waiting as he put an arm around her and she gripped his shirt before speaking.

"Mister MacMae, do you know what happened?" She asked. He nodded a bit.

"It was some sort of beast. Big and white-great blue paws too. Didn't see much else, we got here just when it was...done." He gestured to the mess, which people were starting to near.

"Don't anyone take a single step closer." Elsa warned, making them freeze in their tracks. "Back away. Now."

They did. Elsa made a sort of ice bridge, crossing over the mess so it didn't touch. Elsa wasn't sure if ice could infect ice, but she wasn't about to chance it. She stepped onto her bridge, lifting her dress slightly as she did so. Once in the middle she looked over at the sea of malicious ice, glinting, beckoning once again...

"Hmm." She swallowed, shaking her head. She looked around once more, holding her hand out to make a bridge as she walked forward, slowly, looking at all the ice and wreckage, looking for a clue to the beast they'd seen-how it had caused this.

"Who else awoke to the sound?" Elsa asked, looking at the two other shops that had sandwiched this one.

"No one, Your Highness." Said Mister MacMae. "We had to wake them up ourselves..."

Elsa stopped making her path, turning to the crowd. "Is this true?" She asked loudly.

There was a harmonious "Yes Your Highness" from the crowd. Elsa paused and then slowly got off the ice bridge she'd made. She made it disappear and then had everyone step back, stepping back herself. Then, repeating the process from just the other day, Elsa made a dome rise, covering all the ice, wedging between two buildings. She then added the spikes, which made some villagers look slightly alarmed. She breathed deeply to refrain from accidently making them larger and more frightening. She turned to the villagers, who looked to who with complete confidence and trust. She swallowed a frosty breath before speaking.

"My subjects, I am afraid...that I..." She looked around and breathed deeply. "It is obvious that something dangerous has found its way to our dear Kingdom of Arendelle...Something with powers of ice that are purely evil, dark and..." she turned to the dome. "Disastrous."

"Because this is not the first...attack," she spoke slowly as she turned back, scanning the sea of faces, which were fearful, and sometimes surprised, "I am ordering guards to be posted around various areas of the village, to hopefully make sure this never happens again and capture the beast."

"What is it?" One villager called. "What is this beast?!"

Elsa sighed. "If I knew, I would tell you. I'm not going to deliver false reassurance by saying this will be resolved swiftly, but I will say I will do everything in my power to make sure it is."  
================

Both her sister and Kristoff absent, Elsa's only available company walking back to the castle was Hans. She glanced at the young man. He stared forward a bit blankly, hand shaking as he fiddled with the sash around his waist.

"You act like you've seen a ghost." She said quietly. He jumped and then cleared his throat, clasping his hands behind his back.

"M-My apologies, Elsa." He said, exhaling.

She gave him a bit of a look at the lack of formality she'd come to expect, folding her hands in front of her as a light breeze blew at their hair, making it move like ocean waves. He looked at her, bangs in his face that were getting a bit of a curl to them and gave her the slightest of smirks.

"After our little run ins, especially the latest one," his smirk widened at the deep blush that came to her cheeks, "I think we can push aside some of the formalities required with the difference between our ranks, at least in private."

"Are you flirting with me?" She said jokingly, looking to him.

"Well..." They were nearing the doors of the castle; Elsa could sense something different from Hans, who was currently looking off to the side, his words hanging in the air as an unfinished sentence that made Elsa stand up straighter and lightly clench her hands together, fearing his words as well as her own.

"I might be." He said finally as they reached the doors to the courtyard, which he opened for her. They looked at each other. "Depending on the response of the lady I am flirting with."

A warmness worked up in Elsa, starting in her chest and spreading up to her head and down to her feet, warming her toes and making her dizzy. "W-Well my response depends on who is flirting with me." She inwardly cursed her faltering voice as she walked across the icy courtyard, Hans following.

"So, in this case, your response is?" He said, casually yet not, looking at her from the side.

When reaching the door to the castle, which Elsa opened herself, she paused. "In this case...my response i-is a dizzy feeling in my head and blush in my cheeks." She couldn't help but grin and giggle just a bit as she spoke. Hans beamed.

"Then I most certainly am flirting with you, Queen Elsa." He said, lowly and very near her ear before walking on, shortly turning around, grinning at her as he walked backwards, and then turning back around and continuing the rest of the way down a hall.  
===========

Up on the North Mountain, Grand Pabbie sat in a large circle with many other trolls, vampires, faeries, and other mystical beings around him. In the middle of this circle of chairs was a man with almost grey skin, pointed ears and slicked back hair. He wore a long crimson cape and a black suit with a white ascot, golden cufflinks and polished dress shoes. When he opened his mouth, his fangs glinted in the light coming through the un-meltable ice castle. This man was Atticus, King of Vampires, as well as the head of the council, considering he was older than anyone there, besides, possibly, Grand Pabbie.

"Well, everyone," he looked around, "welcome to the...Lord I forgot what number meeting this is..."

There was a series of shrugs and grunts from those sitting around the table. Atticus shrugged.

"Anyhow. Far as I can report, everything for the vampires, world-wide, is going smoothly. Riley?" He turned to Riley, who was head of the faeries. She stood, tall and regal, with hair long as her robes that dragged on the floor.

"Everything is going smoothly."

She then sat down. Atticus went around the table, asking the heads of certain races that were more than abundant, and then leaders of certain areas. When he came to Grand Pabbie, the old troll stood on his chair, still far shorter than anyone else, and sighed.

"I am afraid to be the deliverer of bad news, but there is an issue in the Kingdom of Arendelle." He said, brow knit in worry.

"What is that, Pabbie?" Atticus asked, furrowing brow. Grand Pabbie sighed before explaining what he knew in detail, adding that he gave the spell books to Kristoff and Anna. Atticus listened intently before pausing.

"I feel like I've heard of this spell before, Pabbie." He turned his head to a woman, who was a witch, and then back to him, "and I believe it is a transformation one."

"Transformation?" Grand Pabbie raised an eyebrow.

"Someone has been cursed, Pabbie, by the magic you speak of...Talia, please?" He gestured. The witch, her hair wild and face young, stepped forward, her deep crimson and purple robes dragging behind her. She lifted her hands once in the middle of the circle, her sleeves sliding down and showing tattoos that circled her arms.

"I will find the spell and who it possesses." She said quietly, her voice echoing in the empty room of the ice castle. Taking ash from a pouch on her him, Talia threw it in the air and then breathed, the ash turning a bright orange and then swirling like a storm as everyone watch. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she said enchantments and twirled around. Grand Pabbie clasped his hands nervously, knowing this spell was tiring and dangerous to the caster (though Talia was one of the most experienced witches of the last century).

Eventually Talia stopped her dancing and enchanting and looked up, exhaling, and then lowering her hands, the stormy orange cloud slowly taking a shape that nearly made Grand Pabbie faint.


	15. Hans and the Horses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa almost skewers her sister and Hans talks with a horse.

Anna sighed, sitting on a bench beside Kristoff, staring at the dome of ice that had four guards surrounding it. The villagers stayed more than clear of the area, crossing by it either ten feet away, or taking a path that went completely around the other side. Their steps were always quick, their eyes darting around anxiously. Children didn't run about playing tag and imaginary games. Instead they were condemned to their houses by their parents. Whispers passed, some conspiring that it might be Anna's sister (though these little ideas were quickly stamped out by her and Kristoff), some said it was an ancient beast they had angered. Others still believed it was some new magical creature, or a vengeful witch.

"I think that stupid sorceress is doing this." Anna said to Kristoff. He put an arm around her, pulling her to his side.

"I think you're right." He sighed, looking at the spikes around the dome. "This is the one time I don't think ice is beautiful."

Anna just nodded, laying her head on his shoulder. "What are we gonna do?"

"Well, I'm waiting for Grand Pabbie to get back from his meeting." Said Kristoff, who reached out and scratched behind Sven's ears. The reindeer made some happy grunts and came closer. He then laid down in front of Kristoff and Anna, becoming a fuzzy footrest. Olaf, who had accompanied the group in looking for the evil sorceress, waddled over and sat beside Sven's hindquarters, a bad move had he not removed his carrot nose beforehand.

"I think our next move should be to go back to the palace." Anna suggested, standing.

"Why?"

"I'm hungry."

Kristoff smiled a bit before nodding. Sven got up, Olaf on his back, and the group walked back to the castle.

==============

When Hans left, so did Elsa's smile. The feelings of frustration, anger, and self pity came whirling back without the bearded ginger to distract her.

She knew it was the sorceress-it had to be. She wasn't doing this. No one else in the kingdom had ice powers to her knowledge. It all came down to the sorceress, who's location was completely unknown. She paced the front room, muttering to herself. She started breathing out frost, the and the temperature in the room fell. Why would the woman do this? Was getting kicked out of the party really that bad? Why did she want in in the first place? Was she trying to sabotage it?

As her thoughts got more complex and more self-censorious, Elsa unknowingly started making the windows ice over. Fractals crawled up the walls, and swirling snow patterns appeared on the floor, making the hardwood slick and the carpet crunch upon being stepped on. She didn't even hear the heavy door swing open as Kristoff and Anna entered, nor did she register their exclamations of surprise and confusion.

"Elsa!" Anna called, sliding over and grabbing her sister by the shoulder. Elsa jumped, causing spikes to arise sporadically across the floor, one nearly piercing Anna. Elsa gasped and backed away.

"Oh no." She whispered. Anna's eyes widened.

"Elsa-No Elsa-Elsa please stop!" Anna pursued her, hand reaching for hers. "It's fine, Elsa. Everything is perfectly fine."

"I-No, no stay away!" Elsa backed up faster, holding her hands to her chest, panic consuming her, making a sick feeling swirl in her stomach. "Stay away!"

"No!" Anna put on a determined face and ran at Elsa, who turned and ran away, ice forming on the walls and floor as she went, Anna faithfully pursuing.

Elsa didn't stop running as the panic overtook her. All the feelings of regret she'd kept away-of never telling Anna, never spending time with her, keeping herself far away from her and anyone else she might hurt, all resurfaced. All her mistakes, now floating on the surface of her mind, made Elsa run faster. She'd nearly drove her sister through with a spike. She had to get away. She couldn't let her get hurt.

Though Elsa was irrational, she wasn't quite "freeze-all-of-Arendelle" irrational, which was why, instead of running out into the woods and letting the flurries that were starting to swirl around her take over the land, she went to the stables. There, she bounded through the stalls, freezing the dirt floor and the doors of the stalls of confused horses, and stopped in front of her horse, Blizzard's, stall. Hyperventilating, she ripped open the door and jumped in. Blizzard blinked, her mouth full of hay. Elsa went to the fresh pile of hay in the corner and fell to her knees, having trouble keeping her eyes open as her entire body shivered with weakness. Collapsing to her side, she gripped her cape, willing her ice trail to disappear. She couldn't be found. Not for awhile, at least. Blizzard, her faithful steed, came to her side and sniffed her head. The queen lightly patted the animal's muzzle while slowly recalling how to breath. Blizzard laid down beside her, her body radiating warmth that slowly calmed Elsa.

"Good horse." She said coarsely, hugging her neck. Blizzard grunted and nibbled at Elsa's hair, who laughed. She thanked God for this horse, who had always been a comfort. Though she didn't visit her as often as she used to, Elsa still heavily relied on the quiet company of her calm four-legged companion. She laid there, on the pile of hay, hugging her horse's neck, letting herself calm, rationalizing her thoughts, forgiving herself, reminding herself to apologize to Anna. Finally, when all that was left of her previous anxiety was a tingle of unease, Elsa managed to fall asleep.

As if written in a book, Hans was the one to find Elsa. He gazed at her from outside the stall a moment, honestly admiring her sleeping form, before realizing that it might look pretty creepy to an outsider and entered the stall. Blizzard lifted her head and looked at him when he did so.

"Hey there, girl." He smiled slightly and walked over, reaching out his hand. Blizzard sniffed it and then let him pet her head. She knew Hans from when he would muck out the stalls and feed the horses.

"She doing alright?" He smiled a bit, crouching down beside Elsa, who's chest rose and fell as she slept. Blizzard snorted and shook her head up and down. Hans laughed a bit before shuffling closer to Elsa, looking behind him. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She stirred, then turned over, hay sticking out of her hair haphazardly.

"You're adorable." Hans thought aloud, becoming more and more comfortable admitting he did indeed care for the queen. Hiding it far better than her, Hans could still feel stinging guilt, as he did every day, for the rash decisions he'd made a year ago. Now, his biggest issue was making other's beside the queen see this. But, pushing his own issues to the corner of his mind, Hans again tapped Elsa's shoulder. He repeated this action several times before she opened her eyes and turned to him. When she saw him, she jumped, ice shooting out of her fingers, onto the walls of the stable. She sat like a doe, breathing heavily while she registered everything. Eventually she sat up, putting on an expression she hoped would be considered facile.

Hans smiled. "You've got hay in your hair," he picked a long strand from her head and held it up between his thumb and forefinger, "don't even try."

Her expression turned to that of embarrassment as she sloppily hurried to her feet and picked out more hay. Blizzard stood as well, shaking and whinnying.

"How did you find me." Elsa muttered, hating her appearance as much as the expression on Hans face, which she couldn't decide whether it was smile or smirk.

"I took a wild guess." He patted Blizzard, slipping her a sugar cube. "Horses are great company."

Elsa didn't comment until her robes were straightened out and her hair was up to par. "They are. Now...where is Anna?"

"Looking for you in the castle worried sick." Hans frowned slightly. "Elsa...what happened?"

Elsa paused and shook her head, passing him as she went out of the stall. "Nothing that you can help with, Hans."

"Try me." He said as she left, following her. She pursed her lips. "I made a mistake."

"You froze half the castle." He said, raising an eyebrow. Elsa gritted her teeth. "I. Made. A. Mistake. Hans."

Hans held up his hands. "I won't ask more."

"Good." She snapped, passing him to the library, where she found Anna pacing.

"Anna." She said quietly. Anna stopped pacing and ran over, hugging her sister.

"Oh Elsa! Thank goodness!" She breathed in relief and hugged Elsa tightly, who hugged Anna back.

"Where were you?!"

"The stables." Elsa admitted, sitting down by the empty fireplace. Anna joined her, sitting on a footstool.

"Why the stables?"

"I just...needed to clam down. Blizzard's there, you know...Just...spent some time calming down and...yeah..." Elsa mumbled, rubbing her hands together. "I'm really sorry, Anna. I overreacted."

"You're telling me." Anna smiled a bit. "At least you didn't do anything really, y'know, nuts. Like when you found out I took your chocolates from your bedside drawer."

"You did what?" Elsa looked at her.

"Oh, um, nothing."

Just then, Kristoff ran in, Grand Pabbie right behind him. Both women stood in shock. The trolls never left the Valley of Living Rock without extreme purpose. Kristoff skidded to a stop, breathing heavily, leaning over on his knees while staring at Anna and Elsa.

"Kristoff? Grand Pabbie?" Anna ran over. "What's going on?!"

"I-I know who's responsible for t-the destructions!" Grand Pabbie rasped, inhaling deeply as Kristoff.

"Really?" The sisters looked at each other then him. "Who?!"

Grand Pabbie paused a long moment, a look of fear, and of sadness, as well as pity in his eyes. Hans, curious as to what the commotion was after seeing Grand Pabbie and Kristoff rush by, came into the room, unbeknownst to the others. Grand Pabbie, in front of this small audience, rose his hand and pointed directly at Elsa.


	16. Denial

"N-No..." Elsa stepped back. "I-I'm not...I'm not doing any of this! You've got to be wrong!"

Grand Pabbie lowered his hand, his craggily face in a frown. Anna quickly put a hand on Elsa's shoulder to stop her from backing up.

"I'm not...no, no! I am not responsible for this!" Elsa looked around quickly, her voice rising. "You have to believe me, I'm not!"

"Not consciously." Grand Pabbie said quietly, sighing. The temperature in the room had dropped considerably, and again ice formed around Elsa's feet.

"I-I didn't hurt anyone...I-I...I..." Elsa began hyperventilating. She gripped her shoulders and stumbled back again. Anna reached out, but Elsa jumped away.

"No..." Elsa mumbled again. She was responsible. She'd destroyed Peter Aker's livelihood. She'd destroyed the woman's shop. She'd been the one who caused all the destruction; made all the townsfolk anxious, so fearful many didn't dare to step out of their houses. It was all her fault, the fear, destruction. She'd done it all! All of it!

Kristoff, being cool headed, started toward Elsa, who was still backing away as the ice manifested on every single surface of the library.

"Easy now, Elsa." He said, voice softly toned and loud in volume. "Calm down."

"N-No." Elsa shuffled away quickly. "Stay away from me!"

Everyone but Kristoff looked around as small flurries began to form, swirling around Elsa, disorienting vision.

"No, Elsa. Sit down. We need to talk about this." Kristoff continued forward, his feet steady on the slick ice. Elsa just moved farther and farther back. With a quick move, Kristoff grabbed Elsa's shoulders. The startled young queen attempted to twist away, but Kristoff's burly hands and arms were too much. He picked her up, and then slammed her onto the couch. This action caused the flurries to still, as well as Elsa, who sat, staring at Kristoff with wide eyes. He'd startled her just enough to stop the insanity.

"Now let us explain just what the hell is going on before you freeze the entire castle!" Kristoff yelled, his voice shaking with either frustration or anger. Either way, it seemed to be just what was needed to snap Elsa back to reality. She slowly relaxed her tense body and nodded. Kristoff slowly released her shoulders. With shivering hands, Elsa made the flurries and ice slowly disappear.

After a pause in which everyone was allowed to catch their breath, Kristoff sat on the couch across from Elsa. Anna came over and sat beside Elsa, putting her hand on her shoulder to reassure her. It was at this moment that Anna chanced a look up and spotted Hans standing in a stunned position near the doorway. Her eyes immediately widened in fear. Kristoff followed her gaze and scowled.

"What are you doing here!" He went over, looking as if he might punch Hans just for breathing. Before Hans could open his mouth, Grand Pabbie spoke.

"It doesn't matter who he is, but how long he's been here." Grand Pabbie looked to Hans.

"The whole time." Hans said, quietly, looking from Grand Pabbie to Elsa. Upon meeting his eyes, Elsa quickly jerked her head down and gripped her hands together in her lap.

"Who are you?" Grand Pabbie questioned.

"He's Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." Elsa said, not looking up. "He's been a servant here round about a month now...paying for his sins."

Grand Pabbie looked like he wanted to inquire further, but left it at that. "Come in and close the door, Hans. You're in this with the rest of us now."

"Yes s-sir." Hans said while closing the door, the look on his face akin to the look one might have when a humanoid rock spoke to them. He came over to the group, standing diagonally from Elsa and Anna, in between the two couches, parallel to the coffee table. Kristoff huffily sat down on the couch opposite of Anna and Elsa, glaring at Hans. Grand Pabbie said nothing while hoisting himself up on the coffee table to give himself more stature.

"Now that we are all situated," he addressed the group, "details. I went to a council meeting earlier this day-"

"A what?" Elsa and Hans said synonymously while looking at him.

"Grand Pabbie is part of a council of magical creatures that makes sure their existence doesn't disturb that of humans and stuff like that." Kristoff explained quickly, purely addressing Elsa. Elsa nodded a bit.

"It's held in your ice castle now." Grand Pabbie added. "The security is stupendous."

"Glad to know it's being used for a good cause." Elsa nodded. "Now explain why I'm terrorizing my own subjects."

"Oh, yes, that." Grand Pabbie gestured with his hands as he spoke. "I presented the terrorization problem to the head of the council, and a very experienced witch came forward and used a rather difficult but completely reliable spell to determine the cause of the problem...and it reveled to be you. I honestly didn't believe it until she explained that there was a curse to turn a person into a monster without their knowledge."

"Think werewolf." Kristoff added.

"Yes, werewolves are similar." Grand Pabbie agreed.

"After all that, Grand Pabbie came down and found me while I was looking for Elsa." Kristoff picked up the story. "He told me about it and we went and found the spell books in the North Tower and managed to find the curse she used on you." He turned to Elsa. "It's ancient and only achievable by a very powerful witch or wizard. We still don't know why she did it besides being pissed for you kicking her out of the party, but either way, the spell is basically used to ruin the lives of the carrier and others. It's mostly used on royals, like you, Elsa. It makes it where the person turns into a sorta ape-dog thing at night and destroys part of their town or kingdom. In your case, you use your powers while being the whole monster thing. After they're done destroying something, the carrier of the curse goes back to their home and goes to sleep and wakes up human. Usually the carrier doesn't know its them until they're being burned at the stake."

"CHEERFUL!" Elsa exclaimed in uncharacteristic loudness while standing. "I'm a rampaging beast of death at night and can't stop it! Just wonderful! Really great!" She threw her hands in the air and started pacing, ice forming with her steps, but not expanding beyond where she walked.

"Now, now, there is a way to get rid of it." Grand Pabbie offered, clasping his hands together. Elsa stopped pacing and looked at him expectantly, along with the rest of the room.

"In order to break the curse...we have to find the person who casted it upon you, or a relative of theirs, and take a vile of blood from them. You would then drink this blood, and over a period of a couple days or so, it would cure the curse."

"How does that logically work?!" Elsa again threw her hands in the air, looking at Grand Pabbie like he was insane.

"Well, when a curse is cast, part of the caster goes with it-like a sickness. So, in this sort of...reversal...well, the blood of the caster absorbs the original spell and destroys it, and therefor you are cured. With this particular curse, the whole process of destroying it would take two days, in which you would not transform into the beast at night, but rather be simply unable to sleep for two days."

After Grand Pabbie's explanation, Elsa sat down on the couch and tapped her foot, the only sound in the room. In an odd sort of tense, stomach turning silence the others waited, waiting for her response. Or, perhaps, waiting for someone else to respond.

"So basically, we need to find the sorceress, or I'll end up dead." Elsa said slowly, to which Grand Pabbie solemnly nodded.

"And there's basically nothing we can do about me destroying the village?" She said again, her chest rising and falling shakily.

"We'd have to chain you down." Grand Pabbie said. "Or get you somewhere remote where there was no one you could harm."

Elsa nodded, and the previous silence again fell.

"Perhaps," Hans started shyly, "I could assist in this predicament."

"I'm half tempted to punch you just because you called it a predicament." Kristoff muttered quietly. Grand Pabbie backhanded him and looked to Hans.

"The floor is yours."

Hans nodded respectfully, clenching and unclenching his clammy hands behind his back as the startling amount of information he'd just gained swirled around in his head. Elsa turned her attention to him rather curiously; a hopeful glint in her eye.

"I...do own property where Els- H-Her Majesty could stay and harm no one. An...an island off m-my home country-The Southern Isles. It's...my own, given to me for my twenty first birthday it...remains in my possession by the blessing of my mother, despite my being...disowned."

Elsa's heart suddenly ached at the thought of it; Hans would never be able to return to his family, his home, where he had people he cared about and a background more than likely plated in gold. The resentment for his previous, clouded actions started melting more than it already was; she was starting to empathize. Even Kristoff's eyes softened. Anna was sold.

"That's an amazing idea, Hans." Anna said quickly, looking to Elsa. "We'll search for the sorceress, and you stay on the island until we do."

"What about Arendelle?" She asked, looking around. "Someone needs to be in charge."

"Kristoff can do it." Anna offered.

"What?" Kristoff's head zipped in her direction.

"You can make sure Arendelle stays intact and all while I go look for the sorceress." Anna said with a confident smile.

"I don't know how to run a kingdom!" Kristoff's eyes went wide. "I can barely manage the ice harvesters!"

"He is a sweetheart, Anna, but I don't think the villagers would listen much to Kristoff, especially considering how much he keeps to himself." Elsa said.

"Thank you!" Kristoff's shoulders slumped in relief. "I'll go look for the sorceress, Anna stays and manages the kingdom."

"What about Hans?" Anna asked.

"He keeps his damn mouth shut." Kristoff spat at the young ginger. Hans snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Oh quit that." Kristoff rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, Mom." Hans spat rather humorously. Kristoff jumped up, books shaking in the shelves.

"You wanna take this outside?!" He threatened, balling his fists.

"Kristoff," Grand Pabbie tugged on his sleeve. "Sit."

"Yes, Grand Pabbie." Kristoff quickly dropped to the couch, still looking agitated.

"Hans will accompany me to the island." Elsa said. "Kristoff will search for the sorceress, and Anna will make sure Arendelle keeps going about smoothly as possible in my absence."

Anna looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure you'll be alright with...him?" She glanced between her and shocked Hans.

"I'll be quite alright."

"I don't like it." Kristoff said in a rather defensive tone.

"Would you rather him run the country? Or go searching for the sorceress, allowing him to easily escape?" Elsa stood, brushing off her dress, taking Kristoff's silence as an answer. "It's settled then. Anna will run Arendelle with some assistance from Grand Pabbie?"

Grand Pabbie nodded, getting off the coffee table.

"Good. Hans will accompany me to the island, and Kristoff will go after the sorceress. I will be gone within the hour to the island. Kristoff, you will be provided with a ship and crew to search for the sorceress-though they won't know that. Anna will keep the peace. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, and Elsa exited, Hans on her tail. They walked down the richly adorned halls of the castle in silence, until they reached Elsa's door. She turned to Hans.

"If you betray the massive amount of trust I'm putting with you, I will personally freeze your heart." She said, her voice quiet and soft, making the threat all the more terrifying.

"I would never betray you, Elsa."

She raised her eyebrow.

"I would never betray you...again, Elsa."

"That's better." She patted his chest, opening her doors. "Go and pack. We might be at this island of yours for awhile."


	17. A Journey

Elsa took a suitcase from under her bed. What did she need? The Southern Isles was especially warm now, considering it was summer. She went to her closet and opened it up, staring in at the rich cloths. She ran her hand along the velvet and silken purples, reds, blacks, and blues, with splashes of yellow, green, and even deep pink. All the fabulous dresses she'd gathered over the years , either from her parents, or from meeting with foreigners. She hadn't worn a single one since she'd frozen Arendelle. She looked down at her hands. Soft as downy, slim, delicate, and completely capable of taking down an entire society. One flick of her wrist, and she could encase someone in ice. Drive a spike through them. Hurt them. Kill them. Anything, just with a flick of her wrist.

They began shaking as her mind dove deeper into the dark. Fabricating brilliantly gruesome ways she could end up killing someone, fake screams echoing in her brain. She eventually pulled herself out, gasping, gripping the edge of her closet. No. She couldn't go there again. She had to keep her mind up-positive, Elsa, positive. Kristoff would find the sorceress. Anna would keep Arendelle from being destroyed. And Hans...wouldn't betray her trust.

Taking a few moments to let herself stabilize, Elsa took three dresses from her closet; a purple, a blue, and a light buttermilk yellow, all humble, sporting little embroidery and generally being something considered very plain. She folded them all neatly into the suitcase, then went to her bedside drawer and opened it up. She took the box of chocolates hidden there and opened it, finding it empty.

"Damn it, Anna." Elsa cursed, a little beside herself. She really could use a chocolate right now.

"Your Highness?" That was Fredrick.

"Yes?" She said, quietly, just enough for him to hear.

"I've been told you're setting off on a voyage? With...Hans?" His tone was suspicious and blatantly disapproving.

"Yes...what of it?" Elsa stepped from her bedside table and went to her desk, gathering her special ink, quill, and paper.

"Well, he's not the most trustworthy person, Your Highness...not to mention that a lady of your stature alone with a man like that is, just, well-"

"Enough, Fredrick." Sometimes Elsa wished Fredrick had never been hired, and other times she wished she could just make him into an ice statue for the courtyard.

There was a hmph, a grumble, and then the sound of footsteps leaving the door. Elsa shook her head and looked at what she'd packed. Three dresses, ink, quill, paper, pencil. A bottle of perfume. A few other necessities. She looked around her room. In the corner, was a doll of Anna. They'd each had them as children, Anna had Elsa, and Elsa had Anna. When she'd been moved from Anna's and her's room to her own room, she'd taken her doll. She hadn't moved from that corner in years. Elsa walked over, running her nail along the yarn hair of the doll's auburn braid, and smiled. She delicately picked up the doll, and laid her kindly in the suitcase, then closed and clasped shut the top. She picked up the suitcase and opened her door, met by Kai, one of the staff that had stayed since the dawn of time, about to knock.

"Oh, um, hello, Your Highness."

"Kai." She nodded with a small smile.

"I came to inform you that your ship is ready...and that Kristoff has left with his."

Elsa nodded. "Thank you, Kai."

Kai glanced at her suitcase and took it. "Let me help you, Your Highness."

Elsa breathed deeply. "Thank you, Kai."

Down at the docks, Hans waited. He was wearing summer boots with his pants tucked in, a belt, and a blue shirt cut off a bit off the shoulders. The workers loading their ship with cargo-food, oil for lamps, other provisions that Anna had smartly requested- looked at him with contempt. They all knew he was the only one accompanying Elsa, and hell would freeze over before they agreed with it.

"Bloody renegade." One spat quietly while heaving a bag of rice up to a worker on the gangplank. Hans didn't comment. It'd take years for any of them to trust him, or a bloody miracle. He hoped for the miracle.

Down the winding path that led from the castle to the docks came Mrs. Nork, holding a box under her arm. She went straight to Hans, who smiled warmly at the kindly old woman.

"Hello, Mrs. Nork." He said. She smiled up at him, then took the box and put it in his arms.

"This is for you, before you ship off."

Hans blinked, looking down at the box and then at her curiously.

"Go ahead and open it now. Consider it a birthday present...two months early."

Hans's first question would be how Mrs. Nork came to know his birthday was in August, but the second question that was more inviting was what was in the box. So, he took the flimsy top off carefully and looked inside. It was a cloak. The cloak was a dark crimson with a golden clasp just under the hood. Taking it out of the box, Hans could see careful embroidery on the bottom, little spouts of fire, encased by thick golden lines. It was beautiful, handmade. Hans's mouth dropped after he took it all in and looked at her. Mrs. Nork smiled.

"You need something more of your...own, here."

Hans breathed deeply, put it on, grinned, and then took it off and carefully put it back in the box and hugged Mrs. Nork.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Nork. Really-I-"

"Oh hush, child." She grinned, got on her toes, and kissed his cheek and then patted the other. Hans couldn't help but blush a bit.

"You stay safe out there, wherever you're going. And be nice to Elsa." She fussed with the collar of his shirt.

"Yes, Mother." Hans said rather teasingly. Mrs. Nork rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head, before wishing him good wishes one last time and hugging him. She then turned and walked away as Elsa was coming along with Kai, whispering something to her on her way by that brought a smirk to Elsa's face.

Kai continued on, taking Elsa's suitcase onto the ship and then leaving. Elsa came up to Hans.

"Is everything going smoothly?" She asked. Hans nodded.

"Good." She looked around. "You know how to sail...right?"

"You just now ask that question." He laughed.

"Oh dear."

"No-no I know how to sail, Elsa."

They both stopped, looking side to side. No one had noticed the lack of title. They relaxed.

"Well good, because I certainly don't."

"Have you ever even been on a ship?"

Elsa paused, walking up the gangplank, Hans tailing behind her.

"Well...Once. When I was...four." She stood at the bow of the ship, staring out at the horizon.

"And?" He pursued, standing beside her.

"I...think I got seasick." She furrowed her brow. "Or maybe Mama did. I know Papa rather enjoyed it. He was in the Navy before he married my mother."

"Oh." Hans nodded a bit. One of the men that had loaded up the ship came up to Elsa.

"Your Majesty."

She turned and nodded to him.

"We've loaded the ship with supplies, will there be anything else?"

Elsa looked to the castle. She'd hugged Anna on the way down with Kai. She couldn't waste anymore time before setting sail; she had to stay awake until they reached the island, and that was at least a day away.

"No. Thank you."

The man nodded, and then left. The gangplank was raised as the rest of the men who had loaded cargo waved and, or left. Hans raised the anchor and then let loose the sails, the wind picking them up near immediately. He jumped the short stairs to the helm and took hold of the wheel, turning sharply as he navigated out of the fjord, then setting their course South. The entire time, Elsa hugged the main mast, fighting to keep her breakfast down.

Once they were smoothly sailing on the calm ocean waves, She let go of the mast, swaying a bit before sitting down on a barrel.

"You doing alright?" Hans called over.

"Just fine!" Elsa yelled back. "Guess I need to get used to the ocean!"

"Yeah, Probably!" Hans nodded a bit, laughing quietly to himself.

Elsa forced herself up, walking a bit wobbily for a moment on the swaying ship before reaching the stairs to the upper deck. She climbed them and then stood next to Hans, who calmly managed the helm.

"How long will it take us to get to this island of yours?" She asked, speaking louder than usual. She had no idea that even a calm ocean could be a loud one.

"If we keep going at this pace, we'll be there by this time tomorrow." Hans said, not needing to raise his voice at all.

"Good...is there coffee in the supplies?" She looked at him.

"If there isn't, I'll be having a word with Anna." Hans joked. Elsa just chuckled, going down the stairs and lifting the tops from barrels. "Beans, potatoes. Rice. But no coffee..."

"Check the galley." Hans suggested.

"The what?" Elsa looked up at him. Hans face-steering-wheeled.

"The kitchen. It's below deck."

Elsa blinked and then looked to the staircase below the helm and traveled down. Thankfully the galley was right there, otherwise the next couple paragraphs might have illustrated our dear queen's inability to find a damn kitchen on a small ship.

The galley consisted of a high rising stove in the middle, with a counter around it in a half circle. Cupboards were below and above the counter, and barrels sat at each corner of the semicircle, which then led out to an eating area with benches and tables built into the wall. She checked all the barrels, only finding more potatoes and beans, and then started through the cupboards. By the grace of God she came across a large container of ground coffee. She immediately set to work, lightning the stove with a pack of matches and putting on a pot with water from a provision barrel. She waited it to boil and then stirred in some grounds, all the while fixing the position of the pot due to the slight sway of the ship always making it go to one direction or the other and never staying on the burner quite right. When it was done, she found two mugs and filled them, wondering if Hans would even want coffee. Oh well, the more for her, the better.

She extinguished the flame and went back up to the helm, handing Hans his coffee.

"Oh, thanks." He smiled a bit, managing the helm one-handedly as he sipped his coffee, nearly spitting it out.

"Oh sweet mercy!" He partially croaked, coughing to the side. Elsa blinked.

"Do you not like coffee?" She asked.

"No, no, I-hack!- love coffee, but this is so...strong." He coughed again, and then sipped it once more, coughing. He smacked his lips and shook his head, a shiver running through his entire body.

"Oh...I actually made it lighter than I usually do." Elsa said, mumbling a bit while taking a gulp of what Hans would come to recognize as caffeine hell.

"That's, well, heavens." Hans downed the rest of his coffee, made a sound like he was dying, and then did an odd little jitter and blinked rapidly.

"I don't think I'll ever sleep again."

"You're welcome." Elsa smirked, then went down to get another mug.


	18. Captain Smollet and a Plot

The water was calm, and the wind was strong to the West. The sun was pleasantly warm on the backs of the sailors, who went about their business casually. It was a perfect, wonderful day.

Unless you were Kristoff, who was currently sitting in his room with his head out the port window at the head of the bed, emptying his stomach. A seasoned sailor, his arms muscled and body littered with scars, came into his room and paused, smirking.

"Can't hold your lunch, eh, Greenhorn?"

Kristoff slowly turned his green face towards the man, and then immediatly turned it back out the window before he could speak, retching once more. The sailor shook his head, tsking.

"Queen sends YOU, of all people, to head this ship. What is it we're doing, Greenhorn? Sailing for treasure? Scouting new land? Some diplomatic venture that's too hush, hush for us "common folk"?" His tone was spiteful, his expression sneering. Kristoff just breathed, leaning his head out of the window, watching the rolling waves, slowly trying to adjust himself to the constant motion of the ship, closing and opening his eyes.

"Well, wherever we're going, I hate to know that you're in charge." The man spat, leaving.

"Ass." Kristoff muttered, spitting out the remains of his retching. He slowly pulled himself from the window and took some water from a barrel in his room, rinsing and spitting out the window. Another person came to his door. This time, it was the captain.

"Mister...?" He looked at him with a raised eyebrow, fiddling with the collar of his uniform.

"Kristoff." Kristoff breathed, standing. "Kristoff Bjorgman."

"Ah." The captain approached, extending his hand. "I'm Captain Smollett. Queen Elsa tells me you're in charge of where we head, correct?"

"Y-Yeah." Kristoff swallowed as the sick feeling starting easing back into his gut. Captain Smollett chuckled lightly.

"Not much of a sailor, I see."

"I've never been on a ship till now." Kristoff said sheepishly. Captain Smollett laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Well, you'll get used to it, m'boy. I just need to know where were heading, and you can go back to emptying your guts."

Kristoff blinked and paused. "I need to see a map. I don't know where we are."

"Ah, yes, of course. Come on then, I'll show you to my stateroom.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

A place normally reserved for the captain himself, neat and tidy, everything in place, the stateroom possessed a large desk bolted to the ground, along with a chair that moved with the ship. On the wall there were several maps, one large one of the world with several small ones around its corners, all organized in an "ordered chaos" sort of way, with scribblings and pins here or there. Captain Smollett handed Kristoff three blue pins.  
"Lets start here, then. Choose where we need to go."

Kristoff nodded a bit, looking at the pins, and then the largest map. His eyes traced the coast of Norway, up to Sweden and beyond, in all directions. He had no idea where the hell to go. So, he began to think.

"Mister Bjorgman," Captain Smollett began, casually leaning against his desk, watching Kristoff with sharp, knowledgeable eyes. "What exactly are we doing here?"

"Sailing." Kristoff joked. "Think the ship on the water and all made it pretty obvious."

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Mister Bjorgman."

"I try."

The captain rolled his eyes. "In all seriousness, what is the purpose of this voyage?"

"Elsa didn't tell you?" Kristoff asked, putting a pin on Denmark.

"All she told me is I'm to obey the directional orders of you, and that the mission is of utmost importance."

"Ah." Kristoff put a pin on the United Kingdom. "Well, it's sort of a retrieval thing."

"Oh?" Captain Smollett raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. We're capturing a woman who's...done wrong on Arendelle soil, something that really...affects Elsa."

"What was it?" The captain asked, his curiosity rising.

"I can't say." Kristoff put a pin on St. Petersburg, Russia. "Like, I know, but I don't know the specifics. I know who were looking for, and how dangerous she is, but I don't know exactly why she's really important. Get what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I understand." Captain Smollett nodded, looking to the map. "Why those particular locations?"

"She hasn't been gone more than a couple days." Kristoff said. "She couldn't have gone too far. I was thinking we'd go to Denmark first, then go up the coat until we reach St. Petersburg."

"Ah. Alright then." Captain Smollett nodded, scribbling something on paper. "Give this to the helmsman. You can then continue about your day, Mister Bjorgman."

* * *

Anna bit her lip, rocking back and fourth on her heels. All eyes of the villagers were on her. Her palms were clammy and sweaty, and she thought there was a smudge of chocolate on her cheek, but she couldn't wipe it off now. It took a minute, but she calmed herself, stopped the rocking, and stood tall.

"I," her voice cracked, and she swallowed. "I'm pleased to inform you all that the attacks on your homes will no longer continue."

There was a cheer, which Anna waited to quiet down. She couldn't ask these people to quit like her sister.

"And," she continued after the cheers subsided, "I also must inform y-you that my sister, Queen Elsa, and Arendelle's Ice Master and Deliverer, Kristoff Bjorgman, are both absent in pursuit of...of diplomatic ventures-for the sake of Arendelle, and I-I've been left in charge."

The villagers seemed to nod as one and were quiet.

"So i-if you need something or, or anything just...ask me." Anna put on a bright smile. "Alright?"

The townsfolk, probably won over by Anna's adorable charm, nodded and the like.

"Ok, great! I'm just gonna...go now, back to the castle and you all continue...doing what you do!" She grinned, and there was again a cheer, and everyone left. Kai helped Anna down from where she'd stood on a bench.

"Very good, Madam." He said, light amusement on his face.

"Thank you, Kai." She grinned. "Whew, hope I never have to do that again!"

"So do I, ma'am." Kai smirked a bit before leading her off.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the villagers, a renegade was among them. He went to his home and sat down at his desk in the corner of the house, where there were no windows, and very little light let in. He took a quill and dipped it in ink, then began writing.

_Duke of Weasleton,_

_The Queen and the beau of the Princess have left. What is our next course of action?_

_-Trevor_

* * *

It was the early hours of morning when, both kept awake by massive amounts of caffeine, Elsa and Hans remained at the helm. Elsa had long taken to sitting on the railing by the wheel, despite the possibility of falling. Hans remained dutifully at the wheel, moving his feet now and then to keep them from getting to stiff. Though she offered, Hans refused to let Elsa drive for more than the few minutes it took him to go to the bathroom. Whether he was afraid her poor navigational skills would get them lost, or that the sea might turn and throw her thin body from the wheel and get them lost was unknown (though, after she got lost trying to find the galley again, its assumed the first one is the reason).

Now they sat in silence, watching the rise in the east, pink and orange hues decorating the clouds, making the sky resemble cotton candy. Elsa stared at it and the open sea thoughtfully, wondering how Anna was doing, how far Kristoff had gone. Whether or not she'd be home soon. She forced that thought out of her head, finding it depressing, knowing she probably wouldn't get home for months. She just prayed Arendelle remained unharmed.

"Elsa." Hans said, looking over. She turned her head to him. "Yes?"

"Can you take the wheel for a minute?" He darted his eyes to the side like, "if I don't go to the bathroom now, I'll piss all over the floor".

"Yes, yes of course." She nodded, getting off of the railing and taking the wheel in her small hands. Hans rushed off. Elsa maintained the wheel rather well, though it was admittedly a bit tougher since the wind had picked up, but she didn't complain. She just enjoyed the view, the wind in her hair. It was calming. So much so, she closed her eyes, letting the breeze dance across her skin and the smell of saltwater fill her nose.

_"Mama, Papa!" Elsa, three years old, with bright blue eyes and plenty of chub, toddled over to her parents on a secluded beach in Arendelle. "Lookie! Lookie!" She held out her hands, and snow appeared. The more snow, a small pile. Then she waved her hands and glistening snowflakes appeared._

_Her heavily pregnant mother smiled from where she sat next to Elsa's father on the couch. "That's amazing, darling."_

_"You're getting better." Her father added with a good natured grin._

_"Will baby have too?" Elsa asked, pointing to her mother's protruding belly._

_"Maybe, dear." The Queen rubbed her stomach. "Maybe."_

_Elsa nodded and then toddled off to a corner of the beach and flopped down onto the floor, smiling a bit. She then clapped her chubby hands together, and pulled them apart, creating a floating block of ice. She then molded the ice, rounding the corners, pulling down so thin, rounded, tube-like ice follow, flopping around. She did the same at the bottom, and then added a round circle at the top and added hair-like strands to the rounded top. She then stood and toddled back to her parents, offering it ot her mother, who took it, staring in wonder._

_"Baby get doll." Elsa said._

_"This...this is beautiful darling!" Her mother praised, her and her husband staring with wide eyes._

_"In case baby don't have." Elsa smiled, showing the palms of her hands._

_Both her parents grinned, and then her father brought her up in his arms and hugged her._

_"That's my beautiful Elsa." He smiled, slipping his wife's crown from her head and putting it on Elsa's, where it sat at an awkward angel. "My beautiful little Snow Queen."_


	19. The Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible person.

"Elsa?"

Hans returned to the wheel and waved his hand in front of the young queen's face, who was staring off into the horizon. She shook her head and looked at him.

"Oh, Hans. You're back. So sorry I-I zoned out." She stepped away from the wheel, which Hans took over again.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked casually, smiling as the island made its appearance in front of them, a speck of rolling hills filled with redwoods, lemon trees, and rows of peppers.

"Nothing." Elsa waved it away. "I just kind of..." She shrugged, gazing at the island that was slowly becoming larger and larger as the winds carried them forth. Hans kept quiet, sensing she wished to let it blow over as nothing. The rest of the ride to the island was quiet. When docking, Elsa ran to the side of the ship and leaned over, gazing at the island. She'd never seen scenery like it. She was used to evergreens and pines in mass numbers over the hills of Arendelle, with mighty oaks and grass in between. Fields of wheat and corn and beans on the rather flat landscape. The island was much different, being made of rolling hills and redwood so tall she momentarily thought she'd break her neck trying to see the top. Lemon trees were all around the perimeter of a large, open house, with windows serving for the wall that faced the ocean. The brick used was sun-bleached, a bit blinding if one looked at it too long, with a Spanish tile roof that had windmills sticking out on the corners, giving the building a bit of an odd charm. She could see, on one half of the roof, that there was a second story, which seemed to be reached by ladder. Off to the side of the building, resting nicely on a piece of grass near a circle of stone benches adorned with the crest of the Southern Isles (a flame with a Chile pepper on one side, and a lemon on the other crossed by swords and held within a circle made to look like the rim of a basket), were rows of Chile, bell, and jalapeno peppers. The fabulous smell that drifted up from it both made Elsa's mouth water and eyes sting.

Hans let down the gangplank and tethered the ship. He inhaled and grinned.

"I'd almost forgotten how wonderful the smell of lemons was." He said, mostly to himself.

"I've never much smelled a lemon." Elsa said, coming down to the gangplank. Hans noticed her eyes were watering.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." She rubbed her eyes. "But the air here is so-so, well, spicy. It's kind of stinging my eyes."

"Ah, yeah, that usually happens when people first come to anywhere in the Southern Isles-except the main city. There aren't as many lemons there."

"Ah-huh." She pressed her sleeves against her eyes, delighting in the coldness.

"Your eyes will get used to it in a little bit-long as you stop touching them." His tone was chiding like a mother when he said this, looking and Elsa as she rubbed her eyes again. She stopped and sniffed, finding her nose to be a bit runny as well-something else she guessed she'd get used to.

"This much spice in the air can't be good." She mumbled, resisting the urge to rub her eyes again.

"Well, we're healthy and happy, so there can't be much bad with it." Hans shrugged and looked to the house. "Why don't you go in the house?" He said gently. "It won't be as bad in there, more than likely...you can go pick your room."

Elsa, eager to get some relief for her eyes and nose, nodded immediately. Before setting off, however, she stopped and turned to the ship. She blew out a frost, which, by the maneuvering of her hands, took form of a half tube, like something a bobsled would go down, which she set on one side of the gangplank. She then extended it to the end of the dock, where it ended in the grass.

"You can use this for the supplies!" She called over. Hans nodded, and gave her a thumbs up, staring at the icy contraption in glee. Elsa left him quickly, running to the front of the house. There was a wooden ladder, a bit crude with its legs bound in rope, that led up to the second story. Under an overhand behind it was the front door, painted a light orange. Elsa pushed it open and quickly closed it behind her. Though the smell of peppers and lemons was still prominent, it was far from painful. She breathed in relief, sliding down the door and sitting on the hardwood floor. She looked up, down, and all around. The door opened directly into what seemed to be both a living room and a dining room, with a semicircle of two leather chairs and a leather couch around a mahogany coffee table in front of an adobe styled fireplace. A potted plant that was oddly not dead was in the corner beside it, next to the poker and other things. The Southern Isles crest again appeared-placed on the over-mantle, its golden accents gleaming in the sunlight.

A desk rested against the wall also containing the door, along with another plant. Across from that was a long table with a total of twelve chairs. Elsa stood and went past that area, finding an open arched hole in the wall that led to the kitchen. Going the other way, down a hall by the sitting area, was an arch leading to a small library with more leather furniture and a red rug. Two more arches revealed a bathroom (Elsa was slightly disturbed there was no actual door) and a room containing a cabinate with trophies and medals inside, and a drafting table across from it. Farther down the hall were several rooms with doors, which all led to various sizes of bedrooms. Elsa eventually, after wandering the other halls that had various types of other rooms and more bedrooms, chose a bedroom at the end of the main hall. It was about medium sized, with a lovely rug and dark oak flooring. The bed was lower to the ground than what Elsa was used to, and had light bedding. Across from it was an armoire which Elsa put her clothing in, and then a desk sat against the wall by a large window, where she put her paper, quill, and ink. She thanked God there was a bathroom spawning off of the room, as well.

By the time she'd gotten everything together, Hans had loaded most all the supplies in the kitchen. Elsa helped with the rest, going outside and surrounding it with a circle of ice that she then directed and reshaped so it would go through the door, then into the kitchen where Hans stacked the barrels and crates.

"Thank you for the help." He said, smiling a bit and wiping sweat from his brow.

"You're welcome." Elsa nodded.

"Your eyes still watering?" He asked, coming over and lightly putting a finger on her chin and tipping her head up, sending a chill down the young queen's spine.

_I'm so glad Anna isn't here._

"No, they're fine." She smiled a bit. Hans smiled back.

"Good." He yawned. "You have a room?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm tired as hell." He started walking towards the hall, Elsa following, her exhaustion equal to his. Hans stopped at the bedroom door next to the drafting room.

"Call me if you need anything." He smiled. She smiled back.

"I will, thank you."

And she continued to her own room as Hans went to his, both seeming to have forgotten one teeny, tiny detail of Elsa's sleeping habits.


	20. A Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad to see people liking this. :3

Hans slept hard that night. For the first time in months, he slept in an actual bed. Not a slab of wood in a cell, a ground, or a sagging, stained cot. An actual, real bed, with wonderful covers and a feather mattress. It was comfort he hadn't known in months, and never thought he would know again, and he relished it.

But, it wasn't long before the house began to shake.

Despite his deep sleep, this shaking woke Hans. He lay on his bed with his eyes wide open, blinking, staring at his wall. Across the room, a gaudy vase was slowly jumping on the table, in tune with the shaking-no, more...thumping. Like when a person walked. A very big, very clumsy person. Hans slowly sat, still watching the vase as it scooted closer and closer to the end. Goosebumps popped up on his skin. The hair on his back pricked up in anticipation. When he exhaled, a cloud appeared in front of his face. It was cold. So cold he couldn't feel his feet, which had been sticking out from under the covers. The tips of his fingers were beginning to numb. Slowly, he inhaled, and exhaled again. A churning feeling was in his gut-one of anxiety. Fear.

The vase teetered.

Hans's breathing declined. Shallowed so it only brought in the necessary amount of oxygen to allow him to keep listening. Keep staring at the wide, arched doorway. The light of the moon glimmered in the hall; touching the surface of something. Something white, but shimmered blue on the edges of its crystalline surface.

A toe, blue as if it had frostbite, wrinkled like the skin of an elderly being; one filled with strength and knowledge, appeared in the doorway.

The ice shot out on the ground, slick designs covering the hall and the arched entrance to Hans's room.

The vase fell.

Its crash echoed in the silent house. Hans stopped breathing. So did the creature on the other side of the wall. For a moment, there was such lack of sound that his ears began ringing. But it was only for a moment. Before he could release another cloud, Hans found a scream erupting from his mouth.

The Duke of Weaselton was nestled in a nook of his library, a book larger than him resting in his lap, and a glass of sherry resting on the sill of the large window that was the length of the couch he laid on. It was during his time of relaxation-a time he greatly treasured- that one of his messengers came in. The young lad looked nervous, his hair hanging down in front of one of his eyes as he hovered by the doorway.

"Come in." The Duke said, though his tone was boarding on the line between coolly cordial and aggravation. The young man did enter, stepping over the dark oak floors and stopping on the Indian rug in front of the Duke and bowing, a silver trey in his hand holding a letter. The Duke recognized the writing on it and snatched it away.

"Thank you. Now, please leave." He nodded towards the doorway. The young man wordlessly nodded and exited, nearly jumping out of the room. The Duke shook his head slightly while opening the letter with his thumbnail, mumbling about the young and nervous. When he retrieved and read the short message from his confident in the territory of Arendelle, the Duke smiled. Though his plan to rid of Queen Elsa in order to regain the valuable trade partner through the naivety of her younger sister hadn't been as swift as Miss Serpentine had promised, it did occur. Now was time for the next step of the plan.

The Duke arose from his comfortable reading position without any reluctance, the prospect of regaining Arendelle exciting him. He quickly went down the grand halls of his castle, laden with a plush carpet flooring and tapestries sporting the colors and Crest of Weaselton zipping by him in a blur. The prim man reached the doors of his office quickly and entered, crossing the carpet to his desk. He took out paper and a fountain pen and quickly wrote a response.

Trevor,

Thank you for the swift response. Our next course of action will take effect two days after the Queen returns to Arendelle. Notify me when this occurs. But first, contact Richard. He will know what to do.

-Duke Henry of Weaselton

He'd managed to bolt under the creature before it could harm him, but it seemed to only aid in preventing his demise for a short period of time.

It chased him. Like a rabid dog, derangedly pursuing its next meal. Big, clambering, apelike hands the size of a man's torso smashed into the ground, shaking everything in the close quarters of the house. A body that rose like a mountain from the back, glimmering with snowy white hairs that radiated coolness at such an alarming rate, it left frost on the walls. Finally a face, gruesomely crossed between ape and dog. It was blue as its seemingly frostbitten paws and had a jutting lower jaw that sported grisly, yellowed and crooked teeth with large fangs sticking up and curving back, so sharp looking at them might have cut you. Finally were a set of horns that curled like a ram and eyes. Small, beady eyes, offset by a yellow iris that was then surrounded by black, crinkled skin that suggested they'd been burned by ice.

The very sight of it made Hans wish he was dead. To make matters worse, the ice that spread on the ground when the creature set down its paw froze anything it touched solid-Hans found this out by tossing a side table at the beast, only to have it hit the ground with the tip of one of its three legs and freeze, then and there, like it was sitting in air.

Now Hans was outside the wrecked home, in front of the front door of the house, diagonally placed from the Chiles and a large amount of the lemon trees, the Redwoods behind him. His heart was beating so fast, it felt as if he might faint. His legs and arms shook in fear. Beads of cold sweat were present on his forehead and back, making him shiver more than he already was. It seemed the entire temperature of the island had gone below freezing.

In the doorway appeared the monster. It let out a fearsome howl that seeped into the very marrow of Hans's bones; deep, vibrating, but at the same time possessing an inhuman squeal that made Hans choke on his own breath. It nearly knocked him to his feet. Then, the creature, who couldn't fit through the doorway, backed up. Its hindquarters rose in the air, though you couldn't see the disproportional backside behind the massive shoulders. Hans realized it was going to charge its way through the adobe wall, and knew, soon as that happened, that he was good as gone. It was extremely fast; the only reason he'd made it out of its reach in the first place was that he'd startled it.

He thought quickly. A single glance at the lemon trees, and he knew what to do. Hans dashed over to the trees and leaped up, grabbing two lemons and then perching himself in the low baring, thin, but sturdy branches of the tree. He ripped the lemons apart clumsily as the monster barreled through the doorway, smashing apart the adobe and sending it flying through the air and into the field. It let out another fearsome cry and turned to Hans, smashed nostrils flaring, nicotine yellow eyes bulging in anger. It charged.

Hans was ready, lemons in hand. When the beast was in rang he squeezed, squirting the tart lemon juice into its eyes. It wailed in pain and tossed itself to the side just before hitting Hans, grazing the tree and taking a branch with it. Whimpering like a dog, the beast scratched at its face and rolled onto its back. Howling and scratching. Hans stared for a moment, marveling in his success, before realizing it wouldn't last forever and that if he was going to save his life, he had to do it now.

Again thinking quickly, Hans sped from the tree and into the house, avoiding what was stricken with the ice, which would most surely freeze him as it had the ground, and opened the drawer of a desk on the wall by the door. He retrieved a dagger he was relieved he'd kept there, and then went running back outside. The beast was still maimed, but had begun to regain itself, the whimpering being less and the clawing at its eyes reclining. It still lay on its back, it's head expose. Hans silently dashed towards it, dagger raised. He showed his teeth like a wild animal. He reached the head and raised the dagger. Right in the eye socket, it would go.

But no.

His breath caught in his throat. The adrenaline left him, leaving an again fearful, shivering individual, who held a dagger, posed to kill, above the head of a young woman, who had no idea what was occurring.

But his hand was already falling. The dagger's tip aimed for the killing blow.

He was going to kill the queen.

The realization seized Hans with unfathomable speed. Just before the tip went into the eye of the beast-of the woman in the clothing of a monster, Hans flung the dagger up, grazing the wrinkled cheek of the head, and smashed the blunt end of the sword in the middle of the face.

The whimpers ceased.

The arms and legs dropped to its sides, limp as a ragdoll.

The night was now silent.


	21. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone, I've been so ill these past few days I haven't been able to upload any new chapters. Apologies.

_"Rosa, ya gotta hide!" Elsa, somewhere between three and four, shoved her elder friend under the bed. Rosa rolled under farther, bringing her silky dark hair with her. Elsa turned around as the door opened. There stood her father, a curious look on his face._

_"Who are you talking to, Elsa?" He asked, stepping in._

_"Nobody, Papa." Elsa smiled, doing her best not to giggle. The king stepped into the room and looked around. Toys were scattered on the ground in the corner by the fireplace. The covers on Elsa's bed were slightly ruffled, and a jacket that he didn't remember him or his wife ever purchasing for their young daughter was draped over her dressing screen. He inquired about the said jacket, walking over and picking it up. It had patches on the shoulders and one elbow._

_"Mine, Papa." Elsa toddled over and took it from him. He raised an eyebrow._

_"I don't ever remember buying you something so patched up." He said._

_"Ya didn't Papa. Mrs. Nork did." Elsa smiled._

_"She did, did she? Why?" The king was slightly suspicious. His daughter had more than once snuck a village child into her room for an unauthorized play-date._

_"She said I could use it when I play pretend." Elsa smiled again, taking the jacket and putting it around her arms. It was too long for her, and the sleeves were too thin for her chubby arms, but it fit just enough to convince her father, who patted her head and said he was going back to his study. Soon as he'd left, Elsa burst into laughter. Rosa rolled her thin form out from under the bed and grinned, her two front teeth missing. She stood up, more than a head taller than Elsa, and brushed herself off, spitting out hair that gotten into her mouth and brushing her bangs from her eyes, which were a radiant blue brighter than even Elsa's. Her long hair swished around her rear as she moved to help Elsa out of her jacket and put it on._

_"That was great!" Rosa said, grinning. Elsa nodded, giggling. "Papa's not that smart."_

_"I'll believe it." Rosa snorted, flopping down on the ground in the middle of the scattered toys she and Elsa had been playing with before they'd heard the heavy steps of her father approaching on the wood floor. She took up a small baby carriage and a little wooden baby doll wrapped in a pink blanket and put the baby in the carriage. Elsa sat down in front of her, legs crossed under her dress._

_"When's the new baby comin?" Rosa asked. Elsa made a mother doll in a light green dress walk behind the carriage as Rosa pushed it, looking at the wooden bundle inside._

_"I don't know. Papa says real soon." Elsa shrugged. "Says he thinks it's a girl."_

_"He sure?" Rosa stopped pushing the carriage, looking at Elsa while rubbing a smudge on her face. Elsa shrugged, maneuvering the stiff arms of her doll to pick up the baby and set it down on a discarded dress that acted as a makeshift bed. She carefully took some of the loose fabric in her chubby fingers and folded it over the baby._

_"I guess so. Says Mama is "carrying high" or something. That's what mama said, too. Low is boy, high is girl." Elsa shrugged again._

_"Oh..." Rosa was quiet a moment. Elsa didn't seem to notice as she carried on with the mother doll, having her wander and order the staff dolls, which were operated mutely by Rosa._

_"Elsa?" Rosa finally asked, quiet. Barely above a whisper._

_"Yeah?" Elsa stopped with the mother doll and looked up at her friend. The spindly girl twiddled her long thumbs, her spider-like fingers resting in long curves._

_"Are you gonna forget about me when the baby comes?" She looked at her with her eyes, her head staying angled low. Her bangs fell in front of her nose._

_Elsa smiled brightly. "No! Course not! You're my best friend." Elsa got on her knees and leaned over and hugged Rosa. Rosa smiled and hugged her back awkwardly, her long arms making the task difficult around such a small human being. When Elsa broke away Rosa extended her pinky finger._

_"I want you to pinky promise me." Rosa said seriously. Elsa stared at the pinky, thinking a minute-but no more than a minute. She took her own smaller pinky and joined with with Rosa's. They shook their hand up and down and nodded._

_"I'll never forget about you." Elsa said._

_"And I'll never forget about you." Rosa said._

_They smiled, and then broke the pinky-swear hold and continued with their game, both confident that their pinky-swear, most sacred of all child-hood promises, would stand the test of time..._

_If only time wasn't so cruel..._

Elsa woke with a start, breathing heavily. Her eyes stung and prickled as if thousands of tiny pins were in them. Her entire body ached-but most of all, her head, which was throbbing. Still laying down, breathing heavily, she reached a hand up and touched it, wincing and whimpering in pain as her skin barely grazed the large goose egg resting between her eyes. She lightly felt around the sizable lump, then rubbed her eyes, which didn't help any and actually made them hurt worse, and then her hands reached her cheeks, one of which was bandaged and felt swollen. She was just forcing herself to sit up when Hans came in from the doorway-which had an actual door on it, for once.

"Oh good, you're awake." Hans nodded a bit, setting down two cups of cool tea. Elsa could smell the honey in them from where she was. She took a minute to observe her surroundings, figuring out quickly that it was the small second story that sat on half the roof. She was on a bed in what seemed to be the main room, the inside no different from the main house far as colors went. A rectangular table was diagonally placed from her by the door where the tea sat. To her right there was a hall that led down to seemingly another bedroom area. She could see the door to one other room in the hall.

"How's your head?" Hans asked gently, coming over and bending slightly by the low rising bed. He'd shaved his lumberjack beard down to a clean face, but for his sideburns. Or muttonchops. Elsa wasn't exactly sure what one might call them. Either way, he looked almost exactly like when she'd first met him, and smelled of musky aftershave.

"Hurts. A lot." Elsa sighed and sat up a bit more, wincing. Hans moved his hand to the lower part of her injured cheek and gently had her turn her face, examining the bandage and the bump on her forehead.

"I think you'll be fine." He said, his hand slowly moving from her face. He retrieved a cup of the tea and offered it to her. Elsa took it mutely. She detected cinnamon, and a couple other spices she couldn't identify mixed with the honey. She shook the cup lightly, watching the tea swirl in its bowl, and then sipped it, pleasantly surprised by the sweet-tang, and even a hint of spice. Hans sipped his own while sitting in a chair at the table.

"If you press your hands to your eyes, I bet they'll not sting as much." He suggested quietly. Elsa stopped sipping at looked at him, wondering how he knew about her eyes. Then she thought of her cheek and forehead. He must know about those too-hell, he must have patched her up, and brought her up to the second story-why had he done that? It would have been simpler if he just took her to her room. Or the couch in the main room. Why up the ladder? Surely it must have been difficult.

She let these questions lie a moment as she set her mug of tea between her thighs, holding it in place on the blanket. She then pressed her hands to her closed eyes. Relief swam over. Granted, they still tingled. But after a few minutes of holding her hands over her eyes, using some of her ice powers to keep them cool and all, she felt much better. At this point, she looked to him.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You...don't remember anything?" He cocked his head to the side. It showed worry, but it was well hidden behind the almost irritating casualness. His confidence was coming back, she could tell.

"No, I-" She stopped. She grew paler, her freckles standing out. "I transformed, didn't I?"

Hans nodded solemnly. "Last night."

"I-I completely forgot!" Elsa's breathing became irregular. No ice storm would be coming, but frost did appear when she breathed. "I'm an idiot! Just an idiot-oh, I knew this wouldn't work. Something would happen. This-this-"

Suddenly Hans was beside her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He put his hands on her shoulders, like hot oven mitts on her cool skin. He took hold of her good cheek gently and angled her panicked face towards him.

"Elsa, calm down." He said, his voice light but deep, reflecting calm that Elsa absorbed. Her breathing regulated, but her breaths remained frosty.

"What happened!" She said, whispering for an unknown reason. Her voice cracked at the end, and she hated it.

Hans sighed, moving his hand from her cheek, sliding down her neck and to her shoulder, where it rested heavily, as if to weigh her down in case she got a wild hair and tried to jump while he spoke;

"You turned into this strange ape...thing last night. Blue paws, white fur. You reached the ceiling. But, I didn't know it was you. I just heard these footsteps and saw this terrifying...thing and panicked. So I ran out, and it chased me-well, you chased me, but not really you...um. Either way, I'm thinking it's kind of like you were trapped in it. You chased me and I got outside and...well, I ended up squirting you in the eyes with lemons and it...I guess stunted you, so I got a dagger I keep for emergencies and...well I ran out and I-I held up the sword...you were kinda flailing but...not really and...I had a perfect shot at your head..."

He raised his arms up, as if he was holding the dagger. Looking down at the floor. His breathing had started to become irregular as well; delayed and slowed.

"It...it would have gone right through your eye-one shot, and you'd be...deader than a doorknob. One shot. And...and I was aiming it down..." he started moving his hands down, slowly, a haunted look on his face. "I was aiming it down...and...I stopped. I mean-I didn't stop. I couldn't. I guess it was-was adrenaline rush or-or something else...I don't know. But, I guess it came to me that it was still you. This wasn't...some scary nightmare. It was real, and you were a beast, and I was going to kill you...but I couldn't." He looked at her, his hands angled where the dagger would be pointed straight out from him; he'd redirected it, like he'd redirected his gaze to her, looking sad. Asking for forgiveness once again. "I...I angled it up...before I could cut your eye but...not...fast enough to avoid cutting you all together..."

Elsa felt her cheek and breathed deeply.

"I..turned the hilt and...took the blood side of the sword and I-I hit you. Knocked you out cold. I g-guess your...curse or-or whatever it is thought you were asleep again because...pretty soon after you were...sort of...glowing and turned back into you-Elsa. The gash was...really big and bloody and you had that bump forming on your face...um..."

He sighed again, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes ridden with worry. Elsa had never seen him like this and, honestly, it kind of scared her. She'd seen him nervous, sure. Embarrassed? Most definitely. Scared out of a cool physique so quickly but having to retell events of a night in which he nearly killed her? No. He'd never been this panicked. His voice had never faltered or changed pitches from deep to soft and down to whispers. It wasn't the fact that he'd nearly killed her for a second time, no. She'd honestly expected it for awhile-though under more sinister circumstances than self defense. What she hadn't expected was that he'd break after it. She'd expect a calm, cool, collected sociopath, should the event occur. Instead, there was a nervous, blubbering man with a look of such genuine guilt that Elsa herself felt guilty for causing it. It wasn't the Hans she knew. It wasn't an equilibrium robot, but a human being. A real, genuine man who'd been hiding-or more hidden away- a fake physique.

"I...took you up here-there's too much ice to get you to your room...or any of the rooms besides the kitchen. I fixed the ladder-you broke it when coming after me-and brought you up here...got you fixed and...yeah." Hans hung his head, breathing deeply. "That's...that's basically what happened. I made the tea for your nerves when you got up-and your head..."

Elsa felt herself nodding. She couldn't say she understood his turmoil-no one could ever really "understand" the problems of another person, not completely, but she got more than a good idea of found herself oddly enough leaning over and hugging him. His shoulders stiffened and he twisted awkwardly to look at her as she parted. She smiled a bit.

"If I'd been in the same situation," she said quietly, "I would have frozen me solid."

 


	22. Rowen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone so much for the kudos and comments! ^^ This is a personal favorite chapter of mine and I hope y'all find it enjoyable. :3

It was official: Kristoff  _hated_  sailing. The constant movement. The constant smell of seawater that never waned; attacking Kristoff's nose until it was numb to the smell, only to be present again in the morning and cause another bout of sickness for the young ice harvester. The rowdy crew who only referred to him as a land-lubbing greenhorn and did their best to knock him on his side. The creaks and groans of the boards as the waves splashed against them gave him a great sense of unease that never left long as they were aboard the ship.

A stop in Denmark proved fruitless. They round back to the UK and again found nothing but some rather tasty pastries. They then circled about, but no one had heard of a woman who went by the name Miss Serpentine, or a woman with long curls of hair and striking green eyes. Their last hope was Russia. After that, Kristoff didn't quite know what to do.

They docked and unloaded, settling that they'd, at current point, give three days to the Russian search for the mysterious woman only Kristoff knew the details of. The grew set to work after Kristoff directed them to basically go around the town and ask the same questions they always had. Kristoff de-boarded the ship, stumbling a bit of quickly welcoming the solid ground. He himself began the search, asking men, women, and children if they'd seen or heard of a woman who looked or sounded like the dastardly Miss Serpentine.

He happened upon a man who dressed very much like Kristoff when working; pants tucked into fur boots and cap, a wool tunic and thick, long-sleeved shirt underneath. He had a sack over his shoulder and an ice pick in one hand.  
"Black hair and green eyes?" He asked after Kristoff had spoken to him.

"Yes, sir." Kristoff nodded. "She's wanted by the Queen of Arendelle."

"Oh my..." The man paused and scratched his peppered beard. "Well, I do know a girl who sounds like what you're describing. She harvests ice on the lake with the boys n' I." The man looked from Kristoff to a sled being loaded up with other ice harvesters. "You can come with us on the sled to see if she's your woman."

Kristoff honestly didn't think Miss Serpentine would be camouflaging as a female ice harvester-a phenomena he'd never heard of in his life-but he decided to give it a chance. He boarded the sled with the elderly ice harvester and the other men, introducing himself in his comfortable setting. He couldn't count how many times he'd ridden with the Arendelle ice harvesters as a child and onward, until Sven got big enough to pull his sled.

"Boy is lookin' for a girl with green eyes and black curls." The old ice harvester said to his friends.

One laughed. "Pretty specific, ain't ya, boy?"

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "She's wanted by the Queen of Arendelle."

The one who laughed raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

Kristoff hesitated. "I can't say. All I know is what she looks like and that she fled Arendelle after committing a crime."

The one who laughed, which Kristoff found out was named Dimitri, paused. "Must have been some crime, coming all the way to Russia."

"It's not  _that_ far." Kristoff said. "But yes, it was a big crime. Did a lot of damage to the village."

"Hm..." Dimitri adjusted himself on the sled, one leg hanging over the edge. They were moving towards mountains. Snow was frequent. "That doesn't sound like Rowen."

"I doubt it is." The old man who'd brought Kristoff on admitted. "But we haven't seen much of her the past couple days. Hell, she might not even show up again today."

"Is Rowen the girl ice harvester?" Kristoff asked curiously. The very concept was strange. Ice harvesters were always big, burly men. They could lift the large blocks and cut the ice with ease. A woman doing the work was unheard of. They weren't strong enough.

"Yeah." Dimitri leaned back. "She's a pretty thing. But she's tougher than nails."

"That's an understatement." The old man snorted and turned to Kristoff. "That woman nearly got her arm tore off by a wolf, once. She beat it off herself and then got all fixed up and was at work the next day, slammin' her pick into the ice like nothing ever happened."

Kristoff blinked. "That's insane!"

"She's insane." Dimitri agreed. "Beat the shit out of a poor sap who grabbed her tush."

Kristoff found himself frowning and rubbed his jaw. This woman certainly didn't sound like the seductive Miss Serpentine. She had the fear factor, but seemingly nothing else. "I don't know if she's the woman...or if I want to get too close too her."

"Oh, don't worry, she's harmless to strangers." Dimitri assured.

"Just don't flirt with her, and don't touch her." Said the old man. They came to the lake, which already had a team of harvesters working far off to the side, slicing the ice with their huge saws and chopping the rectangles into bricks. The men in Kristoff's sleigh unloaded and set to work, getting into two lines and cutting down the thick ice.

"She doesn't seem to be here today, sonny." The old man observed. "You can wait, though, and see if she shows later."

Kristoff only nodded. The man continued to the ice and began doing work with the lads, driving his pick into the floating rectangles to separate them into bricks. It was about an hour before Kristoff saw a figure in the distance, emerging from the thick pines.

As it got closer, Kristoff could see it was a woman. She had the customary ice harvester's clothes, though fitted to a woman's frame. Her shoulders were broad and she carried the same amount of equipment as any male harvester Kristoff had ever met. Her eyes were an eerie greenish blue and her hair was in a side bun, raven curls framing her round, pale face. She looked both delicate and immediately dangerous.

She came among the lines that Dimitri and the old man had joined and took out a pair of the large metal tongs used to lift the ice blocks from the freezing water. She set to work, clamping them on and setting the block on the ice and sliding it to the side to one of the men who would place it in the sled. She did this work with seemingly no problems at all. Just like a man, and even better than some of the ones Kristoff had seen work in his time. It was a bit of a transfixing.

Knowing not to interrupt a harvester's work, Kristoff waited until the line broke for lunch before approaching the woman.

"Miss?" He said. She looked up at him, though she wasn't too much shorter. She had to be in the rang of 5'10 or higher. "Um, do you perhaps know anyone by the name of...Serpentine?"

Rowen swiftly grabbed his collar and pulled him down to her level, nose to nose with him.

"How do you know  _Serpentine?!_ " She hissed venomously. Kristoff gagged slightly and swallowed.

"I'm looking for her."

Rowen gripped his collar tighter before shoving him. Kristoff slipped on the ice and fell flat on his back. "I want no business with anyone associated with that dispicable waste of air." She said loudly and authoritatively. Her voice had a quiet thunder too it Kristoff found amazing and terrifying. The other harvesters had stopped eating their lunch and were watching in interest.

Kristoff found his voice after clearing his throat. "You must know something about her-please! I just need some information!"

"I don't care!" Rowen shouted, balling her mittened fists. "Get the  _hell_  out of here before I tear your throat out!"

_Harsh,_  Kristoff thought. "Please-it's not for me. It's-"

"I told you I don't  _care._ " She hissed, advancing forward on the young man who had only managed to get to his knees. "I don't want anything to do with that witch!"

Kristoff used his arm to block a punch she sent his way. "Ma'am-Rowen-who ever you are-please!" He sighed and made it to his feet, not able to dodge a wicked punch to the gut that made him double over. He thought they were exaggerating about this crazy nut. "It's for the Queen of Arendelle."

Her next swing stopped. Rowen stared at Kristoff as he lifted his head, her hair slightly out of place, her cap crooked on her head. Slowly, she righted both. "T-The Queen of Arendelle?"

Kristoff nodded frantically, standing up fully. "Yes. Queen Elsa of Arendelle-she's wanted in the kingdom for a c-"

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle is looking for Serpentine?" Rowen asked again, disbelievingly, then mumbled, barely audible "Elsa...". The men at the sleigh all looked beyond surprised.

"Uh, yeah." Kristoff scratched his cheek. "I, uh, kinda already said that."

Rowen nodded a bit and then narrowed her eyes. "Who are you? Why'd they send some big oaf like  _you_ looking for Serpentine?"

"Uh, because I'm big?" Kristoff shrugged slightly and lowered his voice, sensing she knew what Serpentine really was. "I know a lot about magic, lady. I was the only one who could go."

Rowen paused and looked at him and then at the ice harvesters, then him again. "Go sit by the sleigh. When the day's work is done, come to me."

* * *

Kristoff followed Rowen through the forest. Anxiety prickled in his feet and made his heart jump. His hands were cold and clammy in his gloves. Rowen spoke no words as they trekked through the snow laden forest, their footsteps crunching on the icy snow. The air in the setting sun was damp with cold and felt like you could almost drink it. Finally, after a good hour of trekking, Kristoff saw a cozy looking cabin in the distance. It's windows were orange with light, and it's chimney smoked lazily. There was a shed with a single Clydesdale horse to the right. On the side of the cabin was freshly chopped firewood. Kristoff followed Rowen up the uneven, creaking steps and into the house. The immediate warmness made him feel like he was melting. He stamped his feet on a rug at the door and, upon direction from Rowen, hung up his coat, gloves, and hat on a rack by the door. He also removed his boots.

The cabin was larger on the inside than Kristoff would have thought, and was split in two by a wooden wall with a door. Where he was there was a stone fireplace that was beginning to wan in its power, but still gave off substantial heat. Next to it was a poker and the like, and on the mantle laid a small wooden toy truck with red wheels, a wooden boat with a red underside, and a child sized slingshot. There was also a wooden table with two sturdy chairs, a rack of spices and tea by the stove, a nail that had a kit smelling of herbal remedies hanging from it, a chifferobe, and a reindeer skin rug on the floor that made Kristoff think of Sven. **  
**

"Sit." Rowen pointed at one of the chairs. Kristoff did as he was told. Rowen then disappeared into the other room, and reemerged again soon after. She went to the stove and lit it, taking a kettle from one of the drawers of the chifferobe and going outside and coming back in with it full of snow. She set the kettle on the burner and looked at him.

"Tea?"

Kristoff blinked and nodded. "Yes, um, thanks."

She nodded and took a container of tea leaves down from the rack by the stove and watched the snow. "Alright. Who are you, and what did Serpentine do?"

Kristoff inhaled deeply, brushing back his hair. "My name is Kristoff Bjorman. I'm Arendelle's Ice Master and Deliverer-yeah, that's a thing-and Miss Serpentine uh, cursed the queen."

Rowen's movements as she put the leaves in the tea water were anxious and stiff. "What sort of curse?"

"Um, a monster one. She turns at night and destroys buildings with ice...anyone touches the ice, they freeze. Solid. It doesn't melt, either." Kristoff explained other complexities, with the vial of blood of the curse-caster or a relative of theirs, the uncontrollable turning, and even added that Elsa had fled the country for the sake of her people. "Now, you tell me something: how do you know Miss Serpentine?"

Rowen looked at him quietly. Her full, naturally rouge lips were unmoving on her face, and her eyes were sad and concerned. She took the screaming kettle from the stove and poured tea in two mugs. She came over and handed him one, and then sat down with hers and took a sip. Kristoff leaned over anxiously.

"Well?"

Rowen lifted her head and looked at him, straight in the eye, hands gripping the mug tightly. "Madam Belinda Serpentine is my mother."

 


	23. An Old Friend

"Wh-what?!" Kristoff jumped up, knocking his chair back while staring with wide eyes. Rowen sighed and let down her hair, which was mostly straight, but curled slightly at the ends and around her face. She leaned her chair on it's back two legs, removing her mittens and tossing them to the side, revealing two calloused yet dainty hands that she wrapped around her mug of tea, resting the mug in her lap.

"Yep." She said before taking a long drink.

"How-what-who-"

"Sit down." She said with calm authority. Kristoff continued to stare at her. Rowen looked at him and slowly lifted her hand, pointing her fingers at him in a relaxed manner that sent chills down Kristoff's spine. It was a beckoning sort of power, telling him to do as she said. The longer he stood, the sicker he felt to his stomach. Eventually, on the brink of throwing up, Kristoff picked up his chair and lowered himself to it. Rowen brought her hand back to her tea and sipped it.

"Now, then, do you have the vial?"

* * *

"Ugh!" Anna slammed her face into the oak wood of her father's old desk. "How does anyone do this!"

She raised her head up again and stared at the piles of paperwork. Her hand was cramped, her wrist was sore, and she missed her Kristoff. She had a whole new appreciation for her sister's work. It'd been a week, at most, and already she was tired and cranky and thoroughly ready to hand the work of her sister off to anyone else in the castle-including her horse. If that was possible.

"I'm getting her a bucket of chocolate when she gets back." Anna murmured, painfully applying her signature to a trades paper between Arendelle and France. At that moment there was a knock on the door. Anna turned her head, gleeful for an oppertunity to postpone her work.

"Come in!" She said cheerfully. A man in one of the staff uniforms walked in. He was tall and skinny, with dark hair oiled back and boots too big for his slim legs. Anna didn't recognize him and asked him his identity.

"Richard Abel, ma'am." He said nervously, bowing deeply. "I-I'm a replacement for Prince Hans-"

"It's just Hans, now. His title was revoked when he was disowned." Anna said lightly. She got great glee from being able to correct people on this fact.

"R-Right." The young man wrung his hands nervously. "A-Anyhow, I'm a replacement for Hans until he, uh, returns with the queen."

"Oh. Ok." Anna tried to remember one of the staff asking her about hiring a Hans replacement, but couldn't recall it. Perhaps Elsa had ordered it before she left. Or maybe one of the higher up staff like Fredrick or Mrs. Nork hired him. She wasn't really sure what the process was for hiring staff, but she decided to just go with it.

"I, um," the man's eyes darted from side to side nervously. "I just wanted to introduce myself-and-and I also have a question from some of the cleaning staff. They,uh, wanna know when Queen Elsa is going to be back, so they know when to change her bedding and stuff."

"Oh." Anna smiled cheerfully. Poor dear was so nervous. "Well I don't really know when exactly-positively-absolutely-without-a-doubt when she'll be back, but you can just tell them to go ahead and change the bedding. They can just dust every other day and it'll be fine."

"Right." He bowed again. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're more than welcome dearie." Anna said sweetly and watched as the nervous staff member left.

Once out of the room, Richard Abel's pointed face curled up in a smirk. He walked down the grand staircase and down the right hall of the front room to the kitchen, then past that to the staff quarters. He went to his bunk and sat down on the wool blanket there. He took a quill, paper, and envelope from his bedside table and set to work:

_Trevor,_

_No clue when the queen will show. Get the men ready nonetheless. Day after the queen returns, we shall storm the castle and take Arendelle._

_Long live the Duke!_

_-Richard_

* * *

Kristoff took the cylinder from his pocket and slowly slid it to Rowen. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up like a fearful cat's, his breathing slow and quiet. Fear itched at his elbows and shoulders as Rowen took the vial in her fingers and examined it quietly.

"Rather large vial." She observed, setting down on the table in front of her and looking into Kristoff's eyes, an unnerving gesture, to say the least. Her eyes didn't lend any emotion that Kristoff could read.

"Um, I guess." Kristoff nervously clutched his hands together. While he didn't feel as if he was in any real danger, his spine prickled with a chill of unease nonetheless. He blamed who she said she was.

Rowen snorted and looked at the vial again. "I'll fill it, under one condition."

Kristoff bit his lip. "What sort of condition?"

"You take my son and I back with you to Arendelle." She said evenly.

_Oh Heavens help us, it's breed._ Kristoff narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. The unease was seeping away. "How do I even know you r _eally_ are who you say you are?"

"I look like my mother and I can do magic like her as well." Rowen pursed her lips. "I'm fully willing to help Queen Elsa...eager, actually," she mumbled the last part a little below a whisper, "but I am not helping anyone unless I get something in return."

"I can understand that." Kristoff agreed unwillingly, remembering that the only reason he'd agreed to go further with Anna up the North Mountain was to get his new sled. "But I still don't know-"

"Momma?"

Both adults turned their heads to the high pitched little voice coming from the door at the other wall. A little boy, four, maybe five, was standing there in a mans work shirt that swept at his ankles. His hands were in tiny fists, clutched at his chest. His brown eyes were droopy, and his peanut-butter colored hair hung over his ears and twisted in front of his face in a cowlick. His pale cheeks and nose were rosy as the dickens.

"Aw." Kristoff's face melted into a warm smile.

"Come here, baby." Rowen said, her tone soft and sugary. The little boy trotted up to her immediately and crawled into her lap. Rowen wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head. He leaned his head on her chest, looking over at Kristoff with a blank stare common on the faces of small children.

"Did we wake you up?" She asked, rubbing the little boy's shoulder.

"No, Momma." He said, then coughed. He rubbed his ruddy nose with his sleeve and then curled his small fist around the cuff off his night shirt. It was this action that gave Kristoff the realization that the child was ill. The next to sneezes hinted a cold, and then the dry heaving and gagging that followed made him think something more serious. After a final coughing fit, the boy's head limply flopped onto his mother's chest, his eyes half open.

"Poor darling." Rowen said in a coddling tone, hugging the boy tightly and petting his head. She seemed to have completely forgotten Kristoff was there. She stood, cradling her child in her arms, and walked to the cabinet of spices by the stove and took out a container with purple liquid in it. She twisted off the cap and handed it to the boy.

"Drink the rest, Dai." She commanded lightly. Dai made a face but obeyed his mother, taking the container and tipping it so the sludgy substance slowly flowed down from the bottom and to his little mouth. After he'd gotten what had remained in the container in his mouth, he swallowed and handed the container to his mother, a sour look on his face all the while. She chuckled lightly and kissed his forehead, putting the empty container on the edge of the stove.

"Don't make such a face, Dai. It won't be long before you won't have to take this nasty stuff anymore." She said in a reassuring, motherly tone that held only fondness. Dai nodded in a trusting way and again laid his head on her chest. He looked at Kristoff, who felt beyond awkward at the moment, and waved weakly with his fingers. Kristoff gave him a warmhearted smile and returned the wave. Dai smiled and then turned his head and closed his eyes. Rowen silently went through the door to the other room, then soon returned, her face somber and worrisome. In her hands she held a piece of drawstring leather and a knife. She stepped over and uncorked the vial and put little more than a prick on the vein on the inside of her elbow. Blood quickly poured out. She caught it in the vial and let the flow continue until it was full. She then re-corked it and wrapped a rag around her arm. The drawstring piece of leather went around the top of the vial. Once it was secured to her liking, Rowen tied the vial around her neck and looked to Kristoff, who had remained quiet the entire time.

"When are you leaving?" She asked.

"Uh, well, soon as we found who we were looking for-"

"Then we leave tomorrow." Rowen said over him, her face hard and pinched. "He can't last here any longer."

Kristoff looked at her, then at the door. He hadn't found Serpentine, but if her blood worked, then he'd have to take it. Not to mention he couldn't stand the thought of the innocent little kid dying out in the middle of the snow like this, especially when his mother obviously loved him so much. He stood and held out his hand.

"Then we leave tomorrow." He repeated. He saw Rowen smile in relief briefly before shaking his hand.

"Good. You sleep on the rug." She nodded to the reindeer skin on the floor. Kristoff did his best to hide his discomfort at the idea and nodded. Rowen went into the other room and came back out with a thin blanket and a straw pillow, tossing both at him.

"Get some sleep. If you try and get this vial and leave without me, you won't make it back to Arendelle." She warned, her voice alarmingly casual. Kristoff just nodded, his stomach churning as he remembered their encounter earlier.

"Good." Rowen nodded to him before retreating into the other room without a goodbye of any sort. Kristoff stood there a moment and looked at the fire. He tossed a couple logs on it before sitting down on the reindeer skin. He put his pillow at the butt end and avoided acknowledging the head as he laid down, boots and all, and pulled the blanket over his ears.

 


	24. Back Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been posting much, still struggling with a bit of a sickness, mostly ringing in one ear that hasn't stopped for over a week. >_>

Elsa awoke one morning and stretched, the chains around her arms jangling with her movement. She rubbed her eyes and slipped her thin arms out of the chains and letting them drop to the basement floor. Since she'd nearly killed Hans a number of days ago and rendered most the house useless, she'd spent her nights in the basement, where there was a single jail cell. (Hans said it was put there by his father, who was always a cautious person). Hans moved a mattress, blankets, and pillows down for her so she was comfortable falling asleep and waking up.

Elsa Stepped from her bed and onto the ground, transforming her clothing to her usual dress, cape, and heels before she even hit the stone floor. She'd really started getting the hang of her powers, she thought in great glee. She moved up the steps and parted the two-sided basement doors, stepping into the sunshine.

She'd gotten pretty used to the unusual warmth of the island. It was still a bit odd, stepping into heavy humid air everyday that heavily contradicted her usual climate, which rarely rose above a dry 80 degrees.

She walked around the side of the house and to the ladder that led up to the second story where she and Hans occupied most their time. As she usually did, she jumped only slightly and started a pillar of ice beneath her, lifting her to the door of the second story. She stepped into it, flicking her wrist so the pillar evaporated. She then continued into the second story, finding Hans at the table he'd previously been at when she'd first woken up from changing into a beast. He had a warm cup of coffee in front of him. He leaned over a letter on the table, leaning his head on his hand, fingers tousling the front of his hair. He looked un-rested, and his brow was knit in worry.

"Good morning?" Elsa said, unsure if it was actually "good" for her companion. Hans flicked his fingers in her general direction as a sign he heard her, but did not verbally respond. Elsa continued past him, to the second room, a small kitchen, and retrieved a cup of coffee from the warmed pot on the stove. She then came back and sat across from Hans at the table, patiently waiting. She knew he'd say something about it eventually. _  
_

Hans leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face, murmuring to himself. He opened one eye, looking at Elsa through his fingers. Elsa raised an eyebrow. Hans rubbed his eyes and then leaned forward on the table and took a drink of his coffee.

"My mother is ill." He said quietly, not meeting her eye. He kept his attention on the letter before him. "They're thinking it's influenza."

Elsa frowned deeply. "Oh dear."

"Mhm." Hans paused and then leaned back in his chair. "She's not doing well. Whatever the doctor is doing isn't working."

"Oh Hans...I'm...well sorry doesn't fix anything, but, but I am." Elsa bit her lip and rather awkwardly reached out and patted his arm. She'd never had to comfort anyone like this. The closest she'd gotten was when Anna cried over a fight she and Kristoff had early on in their relationship. The solution to that one had been simple, give Anna a hug and some chocolate, and go freeze Kristoff to the wall of his apartment until he agreed to apologize (which was almost immediately). But any solution to this wouldn't be nearly as simple.

Though the gesture was small and awkward, Hans seemed to appreciate it and gave Elsa the smallest of smiles.

"Thanks." He sighed deeply and sat up a bit, downing the rest of his coffee. "I'll be honest, I was kinda expecting it. She's really old...so is dad, too. I mean, they're great-great grandparents. I think there might even be another great in there."

Elsa raised both eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. The second youngest brother-Fritz-he was a teenager when I was born, I think."

"You think?"

"I've kind of lost track." Hans shrugged. "There's too many of us. And I wasn't ever really included in anything, anyway. All I got is names, some of the birthdays, and that when my father kicks the bucket, August is taking over as king. Then Jan, then Viktor, Adolf, and so on and so fourth, unless one of them wants to pass it on to their of-age son or daughter. August will probably do that. He has a son older that me."

Elsa blinked. "So you have a nephew that is older than you?"

"Much older. Like ten or fifteen years older." Hans snorted. "A lot of them are like that. I have more nieces and nephews than Arendelle has blocks of ice. And I honestly don't think that's much of an exaggeration."

Elsa laughed. She couldn't imagine having so many nieces and nephews, and she told Hans this. "I can barely handle Anna-and any children she has...well, good thing my hair is already white."

Now Hans laughed, and it gave Elsa relief. She didn't know exactly what was going on in his mind, but it at least seemed he was distracted from his ill mother.

"I suppose that is a good thing." He agreed. He chuckled again and then went and got more coffee. They continued to casually chat through the late morning before finally leaving the second story by way of an ice slide Elsa conjured (Hans got too much joy from using it) and walking around the grounds. The air no longer stung Elsa's eyes, and she no longer felt like she was swallowing the humid air like water. It'd become regular for her, by now, and was rather pleasant. The air was much more colorful than that of Arendelle. In comparison it could be called bland, actually.

When they were stepping at the ground that boarded the ocean, dropping off in a sandy, short cliff, a carrier pigeon came into view in the sky. Both stopped and watched. Hans held out a gloved hand sideways, where the bird landed. Elsa carefully took the small message from his leg with her thin fingers and opened it up.

"What does it say?" Hans asked, petting the pigeons back.

Elsa looked up and grinned at him. "They found the blood. I mean, it's not the witch's blood, but it's one of her daughters or siblings blood or something like that. Either way they're sure it'll work and want us to head out immediately!"

Hans grinned and nodded. Without attaching another message he rose his hand quickly to the air so the pigeon would take off and then walked to the house with Elsa to start packing.

* * *

"So...so you're saying you knew Elsa before I was born?" Anna asked carefully, looking at the woman before her. She'd given up her ice harvester clothes for a more simple, loose fitting tunic that wrinkled around her muscles and canvas pants. The woman nodded quietly.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Anna crossed her arms and raised her head up, quirking up an eyebrow sharply as she did so. It was one of her better attempts to look intimidating, but it didn't really work. Rowen just looked extremely unimpressed.

"I guess you don't necessarily know until your sister gets here...she'd recognize me." Rowen took her cup of tea Mrs. Nork had poured her when they entered the library and sipped it. "She'd call me Rose, though. Or Rosy."

"Why would she call you that?" Anna cocked her head to the side curiously and glanced at Kristoff.

"She thought I was her imaginary friend. I only knew her when she was younger-I think I left when she was about five or six. You'd gotten old enough to be a playmate, and she was getting to the point she was starting to realize I wasn't just imaginary. I came back a couple times after she kind of got locked up, but never went in the room. I think she saw me in the window once or twice, but I always ran off."

"Why?" Anna asked again. She rested her hand on Kristoff's thigh nonchalantly and leaned against him. It was nice to have him back. Very nice. "Why all the secrecy?"

"Didn't you ever notice your parents never let you play with children of the village?"

Anna paused. In the little time she remembered before everything had been shut up, she'd never talked to any children that weren't other royals, spawned by no lesser than a baron. She'd never made much of friends with them, either. They were usually a bit stuck up or bratty, or she annoyed them by being too happy. After the big close up, they weren't as frequent, but it was about the same result. Anna just nodded.

"Exactly. I kept it secret because of that... When I was older I left to Russia with my mother. That's where the base for the organization she joined was, at the time. We had a falling out- I didn't want to join the organization- and she left. I stayed in Russia and took on work as an ice harvester. Met a man and that's where Dai came from...his father didn't stay. I'll admit after that I distanced myself from other people and generally just took care of my son. Then blondie came in and told me what was going on with Elsa and I decided to come for the sake of Dai...and Elsa."

Anna nodded, quietly listening with Kristoff. "Well...I'm really-well I'm surprised. Elsa never said anything about Rosy or anything like that..."

Rowen only nodded, and then stood. "Thank you for the tea, but I'm going to go to bed."

"Oh, ok." Anna breathed deeply and watched Rowen leave the room, then turned to Kristoff. "Are you sure she's Miss Serpentine's daughter?"

"..Yeah."

"How?"

"She looks just like her...and she has powers. If it turns out she's lying and she's just a doppleganger we can always just...shoo her off back to Russia and she can live out her life with her son. She wasn't hurting anyone there."

Anna nodded and snuggled up to him. Kristoff pulled her into his lap and kissed her cheek. They enjoyed a moment of contentment in the library, enjoying the company of each other that they hadn't had in too long. Kristoff kept his burly arms around Anna, and she stayed curled in his arms, small and delicate as a bird. Eventually, in the light warmth of the library, she fell asleep. Kristoff noticed this and picked her up, carrying her to her room and laying her in her bed. She mumbled and curled up in her messy blankets and strewn dresses that always occupied her bed. He smiled softly and then went out of the room and to his own, next door.


	25. Return

Elsa and Hans stepped onto the dock by the castle early the next morning. Neither had slept at all, and it showed in the bags under their eyes. They didn't exactly look tired though, probably due to their simultaneous excitement and and relief.

Anna was already waiting for them, and squealed upon seeing her sister. She ran forward and tackle hugged her, nearly sending her to the ground. Their was a mixture of happy squeals and jumbled words of glee upon their reuniting, which was quickly followed by Anna holding Elsa at arm's length and giving Hans an icy stare.

"He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?" She asked suspiciously, trying to look intimidating towards Hans.

"No, Anna. Hans was a perfect gentleman." Elsa said, smiling brightly and taking her sister's hands in a reassuring manner. Anna seemed slightly surprised and cocked her head to the side.

"You sure he didn't hit you over the head with something?"

"Oh, I'm sure, Anna. I'm sure." Elsa smiled more and patted her sister's shoulder. Hans couldn't help but slightly smirk at Anna, the cloak Mrs. Nork had made for him on his arm. Anna stuck her tongue out at him in an almost playful manner and turned her attention back to Elsa.

"Come on, Elsa. Grand Pabbie and Kristoff are in your room with Rowen!"

Elsa blinked. "Rowen?"

"Mhm." Anna nodded. Elsa could sense her younger sister was keeping a detail from her, but didn't say anything. She told Hans to go ahead and get some sleep in his room, and to tell her if Fredrick gave him any trouble on the matter. She then allowed Anna to drag her along to the castle. Elsa relished in the air of her kingdom, absent of spices, refreshing in its cool dampness. She greeted her favorite staff warmly, but didn't speak with them due to Anna's consistent pestering to move faster. Finally, they reached the library, and Anna threw open the double oak doors. Elsa entered behind her sister with far less flourish. Grand Pabbie smiled upon seeing her, as did Kristoff.

"It's good to see you, Elsa." Grand Pabbie greeted. Elsa went over and bent to hug the ancient boulder, and then embraced Kristoff. She stepped back from the two after a small greeting and then looked over to a rather large window on the far wall. There was a woman in front of it, back to Elsa. She wore a sky blue cotton shirt that clung to her muscles, and a sash that held up pants fitted for a woman, tucked into large fur boots, like those Kristoff wore while ice harvesting. She found it downright strange, a woman in pants. She couldn't recall having ever met one, besides an Arabian belly dancer who had been brought to a dinner meeting by a trades partner. Even those were floofy enough to be mistaken for a dress. This woman's overall physique just screamed ice harvester.

"Is she...?" Elsa glanced at Anna. Anna remained quiet as the woman slowly turned, her long black hair flicking with her. Her green eyes met Elsa's. Elsa took a sharp breath and clutched at her heart. It may have been seventeen years since she'd last seen that face, but she could never mistake it for anyone else.

"R-Rosy?" Elsa asked timidly, her eyes doe-like and her breath frosty with nerves.

The woman took a deep breath and turned around fully. She walked towards Elsa, each step landing heavily on the floor, her hips swinging widely with them. Last Elsa could remember of Rosy was a slightly-underfed seven or eight year old with soft pink lips and wide green eyes. The woman before her was intimidating and beautiful, with her lips painted a deep scarlet and her eyes sharp and holding a great depth with their green color. It looked like she'd never cut her hair, as well.

Eventually, Rosy reached Elsa, looking down at her. She was quite tall for a woman, as well. Her face had remained expressionless until she reached Elsa. Now it went curious, and then disbelieving, before finally settling on happy astonishment.

"It  _is_ you, Elsa!" She said, her voice low and sweet.

"Oh my  _Lord._ " Elsa whispered. In their simultaneous shock, the women hugged. Elsa felt a bit numb, putting together all the pieces. Rosy would primarily show up when her parents were sure to be gone or busy for awhile. She'd always hide under the bed when they showed up, not disappear. In her young mind she could remember that, and the conversations they had, the topics that came up. Things in a language only children knew and adults remembered. Her parents, the baby, their lives. Why Elsa wished her mother would quit fussing over her so much, and why Rosy wished that her mother would hug her more often. Their likes and dislikes over games of house and stolen treats from the pantry. She'd never given it the thought until then to realize she wasn't the one eating both snacks, as any child with an imaginary friend would do, but that Rosy was eating hers, and Elsa eating her own. It was a big jumbled mess that suddenly came crashing down into an insane order. Everything was so connected yet broken, explained and unexplained.

Finally, the women parted, staring at each other, studying their features, the differences, the changes.

"You're r-real." Elsa said.

"You got taller." Rosy said, taking her arms from the smaller woman. Elsa looked her up and down.

"You're saying  _I_ got taller? Look at you!"

Rosy looked herself up and down, then shrugged. Elsa breathed deeply, rubbing her face.

"Was it you that I spotted looking in my window a couple of times?" Elsa asked after a minute.

"Heh, yeah. I kept telling myself I was going to-well-uh-tell you I'm not, you know, imaginary."

"Well, you've showed me that..." Elsa nodded a bit, a finger resting at the corner of her mouth. "You could tell me a bit too..."

Rosy nodded, then gestured to the couch. Elsa sat down. Kristoff and Anna sat on the couch diagonal from them, and Rosy sat next to Elsa. Grand Pabbie took a place on the coffee table with Kristoff's assistance.

"Well first, my real name isn't Rosy."

"It isn't?"

"No, it's Rowen. Rowen Serpentine."

Elsa swallowed a bit. "You're the-"

"The one who's going to stop you from turning into some wicked looking beast every night? Yeah." Rowen took a leather string from around her neck and pulled it off, a vial emerging from her shirt filled with red liquid. Elsa realized with a sickening feeling that it was Rowen's own blood. "Blondie came and picked me up. From Russia." She set the vial on the coffee table.

"It's Kristoff."

Rowen looked at him, and turned her lips in a smile. "Blondie."

"Kristoff."

"Blondie."

"Kristoff!"

"Blondie!"

Elsa started laughing, and Kristoff frustratedly gestured at Rowen, and looked at Anna. "She's impossible!"

Anna just patted his thigh and smiled a bit. Rowen laughed lightly after that and crossed her arms, leaning back on the couch. "Anyway," she said, addressing Elsa, "my mother is the one that cursed you." She looked at Elsa, particularly at her hands. "I can see it, a bit. It's a sort of fog around you, kind of grey, kind of blue. She put a lot of magic into it...must of really pissed her off."

"Heh...heh." Elsa wrung her hands together and looked away. "The guards found her scaling the wall of the castle, and I threw her out."

"Oh shit." Rowen raised both eyebrows. "I"m surprised she didn't kill the whole town. She'd never been caught, and if there's one thing my mother can't stand, it's humiliation. That's why she left me in Russia-moved on to Italy or something, freelancing. I humiliated her by refusing, in front of other members, to join The Poppyseeds. That's the organization that she works for. They peddle curses and nefarious charms and the like on a global scale."

"She had a bag with a poppy on it." Kristoff recalled.

"She carries everything she owns in there, now." Rowen nodded. "She'd come by my cabin once in awhile and try to get me to join. We'd have some tea, get in a fight, and then she smiled and say she'll be back. Haven't heard from her in awhile."

"Well, now you know what she's been up too...kinda?" Elsa said, brushing her hair back with her fingers.

"I guess. Couldn't care less. I just hope she stops trying to visit. She was a pretty awful mother."

Elsa just sort of nodded, and then there was a silence. Grand Pabbie took this oppertunity to stand on the coffee table, and clear his throat. Everyone looked to him.

"I think we should proceed with curing Elsa, now."

Everyone nodded, all a bit embarrassed they kind of ignored the subject. Grand Pabbie took the vial of blood and popped off the cork, then handed it to Elsa. Elsa breathed deeply and, deciding not to fuss on anything, downed the vial. It was cold and coppery, running down her throat. She felt like some sort of psycho and resisted the urge to throw up. At the same time, a warm feeling spread throughout her body. Like a healing spark. She swallowed more than once, and coughed.

"Ew." Anna said.

"I don't ever advise that." Elsa said, smacking. Anna handed her a glass of water, and Elsa took it, and drank it. After a minute, she leaned back.

"How do you feel?" Grand Pabbie asked.

"Much better...actually. Warm." Elsa touched her hands together, and then brushed them along her icy sleeves. "Really warm."

"Probably brought you to a normal body temperature." Grand Pabbie figured, hopping off the the table.

"The fog around her is going away." Rowen nodded. "You'll be back to normal pretty soon."

"Two days." Grand Pabbie nodded. "You won't be able to sleep, though. You'll feel the fatigue, but you won't be able to close your eyes until this time Sunday."

Elsa nodded. "Better than turning into a giant death monster."

Everyone nodded in agreement, Anna came over and hugged her sister, grinning. "Everything's gonna be alright."

"Everything's going to be alright." Elsa repeated, smiling at her sister and holding her hands.

Then the window shattered, and an arrow flew through the air and through the space between the sister's foreheads, embedding itself into the wall behind them.

 


	26. Fallen

"What in the world?!" Kristoff jumped up and pulled both sisters away from where they were standing. Grand Pabbie whirled around to look at the shattered glass, and Rowen took out a handgun from her deep pocket and leaned against the wall by the window, glancing out. She reeled her head back in as an another arrow went through the window, followed by a bullet in the opposite.

"What's going on?!" Anna shrieked, gripping to Kristoff's shirt.

As if to answer her question, there was a sudden roar of seemingly un-gallant men from outside the castle.

"DOWN WITH THE QUEEN!"

"LONG LIVE DUKE WEASELTON!"

"Oh for the love of Mike," Rowen muttered, running over to the group. "Why is the entire male population of Weasleton outside the castle?"

"I don't know!" Elsa screeched, tiny ice crystals shooting from her fingers and shattering on the ground.

"Maybe they're angry about the trade cancellation?" Anna suggested.

"That was over a year ago!" Elsa exclaimed a bit shrilly. She could feel her nerves pricking in her shoulders, chilling her fingertips. Fatigue drug heavily on her un-closable eyelids, and her legs were still tired from pacing the ship to stay awake on the way to Arendelle. Rowen grabbed her arm and squeezed it, drawing her attention.

"Elsa, is it true you can make snowmen?" She asked, her face deadpan.

"Y-Yes." Elsa managed, nodding, wondering of the subject change. Outside, the roars of the charging Weasleton men could be heard. They were trying to break into the castle, screaming about revenge for disgracing their land. Elsa knew that the gates and any other entrance into the castle was braced, and the guards would work mightily to defeat the intruders, but she also knew just how small their defense was.

"Then I think you better conjure some of them and get rid of these bastards." Rowen smartly suggested, gathering surprised looks from Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Grand Pabbie.

"I never thought of that..." Elsa said in a sort of mumblish fashion.

"Enough chit-chat, if you can do it, conjure up some soldiers. And move." Rowen pulled Elsa out of the way of an arrow and then dragged her from Anna and Kristoff, into the hall.

"But-Rowen-my sister-"

"Will be fine. She has a human bear protecting her. And a magical rock." Rowen continued dragging Elsa's tired body through the castle until they reached the front doors. Elsa was breathing rapidly, both from exhaustion and fear, frost puffing from her lips. She felt like she was in a sort of daze, almost. She felt slow in mind and body. She felt terrified. And she felt more than glad to have Rowen with her at the moment to tell her what to do to protect her kingdom.

Rowen whirled Elsa around to face her, looking her in the eyes. "You know what it's probably gonna be like out there?"

Elsa paused. A roar of mens voices followed, along with the sounds of firing weapons of various sorts. "Hell."

"Basically. I want you to run out there and bring on the snowmen, big and burly as you can make them. Think you can do that?"

Elsa swallowed and nodded, her mind almost swimming. A whole jumble of things that made a swampy goop were flying through her cranial cavern; the fight outside, her sister back in the library with Kristoff. How the men were outside, where Olaf was. Why she felt like she could immediately trust Rowen to know what she was doing, and whether or not Hans was in or outside the palace when the fighting started. Whether or not he was dead.

"Can you do that?!" Rowen repeated, louder and with more snap in her voice. Elsa would have jumped if the woman's strong hands didn't hold her in place.

"Yes!" Elsa said, clenching her hands. She felt the coolness she was used to in the fingers and palms, chilling her pleasantly unlike the rest of her body.

"Then go!" Rowen gave her a rather-not light shove towards the door, which suddenly burst open, as if by magic. "I'm going to the top of one of the towers to pick off any scroungers." Elsa stared a second, watching Rowen's chest heave and noticing a bit of sweat on her brow.

"Rowen, are you alright?!" Elsa yelled to her as the noise of fighting came in through the door.

"Just go!" Rowen jerked her hand at Elsa. Elsa suddenly was outside, and the doors were closed in front of her. She felt a slight chill-chilly even for her, and a bit painful, run down her spine. When she glanced up at the sky, she could see Arrows and bullets alike bouncing against something. It was nearly transparent, but Elsa spotted what seemed to be some sort of field with a light purple hue. On the walkways that connected the watchtowers of the outer wall were a dozen or so men banging at this flickering field. Now and then one would fall through and start falling. Usually get a shot at a guard, but then would get shot back. Sometimes the field would completely disappear, and a guard or two would fall, and then the field would come back , and a bit farther away from the wall. It the moment that Elsa took to observe this field, she realized why Rowen must be heaving, and immediately set to work.

She stood in the center of the courtyard, the guards looking curious but more focusing on defending the castle and themselves than their queen that obviously had reason to be out there. She melted the ice rink that usually occupied the space-something the guards were certainty thankful for- and then took a stance. She felt a hot-cold surge in her veins, like they were fighting the process, but Elsa pushed on, slowly raising her arms up. A rumbling outside the castle walls foreshadowed the giant walls of snow that soon overbore the castle's defenses. Elsa spun in a circle, sprinkling the snow with sparkling crystal ice, and then followed with a number of quick swipes with her arms. The snow was chopped up into equal blocks and floated. Sweat gathered at Elsa's brow and dripped down her nose and the sides of her face. Every movement that propelled or manipulated ice stung and bit like a poisonous snake. Elsa could feel the blood fighting to kill the beast inside her trying to restrict her, to keep her from going over the edge. In the back of her mind, the possibility of spontaneously turning into a beast worried the young queen. How would she save her kingdom if she couldn't control herself?

Nevertheless, she continued, slicing and waving and mumbling curses that would make her mother faint-courtesy of Hans. The bricks of snow quickly formed into little Marshmallows-to put it basically. Each held a weapon of some sort, and each held the anger, frustration and blood-lust Elsa currently held for the invaders. Elsa raised her fingers, and then dropped them. With that, the snow men fell, barreling down on the Weaselton men, who seemed to let out a simultaneous scream of horror. Elsa's heart pounded in her ears. She swore she could feel her veins straining to carry her blood through her body, and she felt a bit top-heavy.

The flickering violet shield around the castle walls stopped for the moment. Swords clashing could be heard outside the walls, along with warlike cries and screams. Elsa remained in the castle with the guards, none of them breathing very much. They all waited for an arrow to shoot over the wall, or to see a Weaselton man crawl over the wall. None did. Elsa mentally told her soldiers to not kill if possible. She didn't want to initiate a war, especially with Arendelle's lack of warm blooded defense. If anything, she wanted to send a warning.

Over an un-measurable amount of time that could have been hours or minutes, the sounds outside the castle walls diminished to nothing but the occasional pained squall. One brave guard volunteered to check on what was going on and exited through the gates, quickly coming back cheering. As a group they all went out and found that the snowmen had done just as Elsa asked; captured more than killed. Only two bodies lay on the ground, the rest of the men were frozen from the head down. The snow-soldiers all stood at attention. Elsa smiled and congratulated them kindly and then turned to the guards.

"Men, I'd like you to load up these hooligans into some wagons, and take them down to the docks and load them on a ship. Make sure the Duke know's this is a warning, and not an invention to war."

"Yes, Your Majesty." They all bowed unanimously. Elsa smiled and waved her arm, creating a slick belt of ice like she had when she and Hans were on the island, and then left the men to their work. She went inside the courtyard, breathing deeply. She realized just how tired she was when her ankles started shaking and she felt her eyes trying their best to close. She pushed on, smiling when Anna came running out with Kristoff and, a bit surprisingly, Hans. The smiled quickly disappeared when it wasn't returned by her sister or her two companions.

"Anna, what's going o-"

"ELSA, RUN!" Anna screeched, grabbing Elsa's hand. Elsa stumbled forward in confusion, but then it hit her.

Literally.

She felt the bullet pierce through the skin in her back and barrel through the mushy flesh of her insides. It pierced either a heart or a lung; she didn't know, and went straight through her thin chest cavity and towards Anna. Her face twisted in pain as Anna started screaming. She could feel her blood leaking out, but when she looked down there wasn't any blood; only ice. Ice that was quickly spreading over her body as she felt herself tipping backwards. It sped down her torso and towards her legs, which she felt stiffen; freeze. Freeze down to her toes like she was a statue. It sped up towards her chest and she started screaming. She was going to freeze. She was going to be a solid statue in front of the castle forever. It crawled up her flailing arms that stopped flailing as they were frozen in place. It crawled up her neck and chin and into her open mouth. She stared up at Anna's frantically screaming face as tears began to roll out of the corner of her eyes, which quickly froze as the ice crept forward, over her nose, to her eyes. Glazing them in eternal ice.

_I'm so sorry, Anna._

 


	27. Frozen

"ELSA!" Anna screeched, jumping to her sister's frozen figure. Tears were pouring down her face and her fingers shook as she gripped Elsa's frozen cheeks. Kristoff and Hans were both standing as if they were statues, staring at Anna and Elsa. Kristoff was the first that moved his eyes from the young queen. At the gates there was a young man, eyes wild and blood smeared across his face and hair. A rage burned in Kristoff's belly, and he was about to go ahead and attack the young man, but Rowen came from inside the castle and seemed to do it herself, since soon as she entered the courtyard the young man's eyes rolled back in his head, and he dropped to the ground.

"Elsa...Elsa..." Anna continued to cry, "p-please Elsa, d-don't be gone. Elsa please I'm begging you p-please..." She hugged her statue-sister, fingers numb and body becomming chilled. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Rowen, who's face was simultaneously emotionless and somber.

"Let me have a look dear, please," she said in an unusually soft voice. Anna sniffled and scooted to the side, holding one of Elsa's frozen hands but giving Rowen room to look her over properly. The witch ran her hand along Elsa's torso and squinted at her face, which she got particularly close to.

"Hmm." She said inconclusively, looking at Anna, and then Kristoff and Hans. "Where's Grand Pabbie?"

"Back in the library." Kristoff said. "He couldn't exactly roll fast enough to catch up with the rest of us."

Rowen nodded and stood. "Well, I'm going to go speak with him. And make sure Dai is alright." She nodded slightly to Anna, as if to tell Kristoff to go comfort her, which wasn't really necessary as he was already heading over. She left.

Hans remained where he stood, eyes fixed on Elsa. His mind flashed between it and the sliver of Anna as an ice statue he'd seen more than a year prior. It felt like lead was in his stomach. His open jaw twitched slightly, and his breaths were little more than small puffs. His chest seemed to be bound tightly and his mouth and throat were oddly dry, sticking together and pulling apart like two pieces of paper sloppily glued together. He felt like he was in a pained numbness; what had just occurred wasn't passing through his brain correctly, only a moment before his and Elsa's return to Arendelle...

_She was sitting on a barrel diagonally from him. She'd done her hair up in its usual braid, and it glinted like freshly fallen snow in the sunlight. She was looking out at the never ending sea water. There were bags under her eyes, but her smile was wide as the horizon._

_"Excited?" Hans asked in a conversational tone. Elsa turned to him, her blue eyes shining in glee. "Of course," she said, "I can't wait to get back home, and get rid of this stupid curse."_

_Hans nodded. "It'll be nice not to have to wonder whether or not I'll wake up in one piece."_

_Elsa chuckled lightly, and Hans gave a slight, satisfactory smile at accomplishing this. She looked out at the water again, leaning against the railing of the top deck. "How many seas have you sailed, Hans?"_

_"Oh, all seven." He said, turning the wheel according to their course. "Spent a lot of time out on the water before the, well, incident."_

_Elsa nodded, smiling a bit. "I'd like to see all seven. All them and the oceans and the countries...everything. I'd like to see it all."_

_"Really?" Hans raised an eyebrow. "Never took you for the adventuresome sort."_

_"Oh, well, I am. Once I get over the sea sickness." She grinned slightly, Hans mirroring it. "I spent thirteen years of my life in a castle with books and a view of the ocean. I was still kind of scared of leaving Arendelle before I, well, had too, but now...I'm not, really. I like the ship and I like the saltwater and the sun shimmering on it and all. Kinda feel changed, you know?"_

_"Oh, I know." Hans nodded. Ever since his father had called him a pathetic coward, he'd felt changed. Since he started working at the palace, seeing Anna and Elsa every day, he changed. Since he'd gained a confident in Mrs. Nork, he'd changed. Since everything that had occurred in the last month, he'd changed. He kept shifting and changing, morphing like some creation God was still deciding upon. He felt his changing had stopped, that he'd morphed into something at least satisfactory to the man upstairs, the day they'd set sail, and the days they spent on the island. He didn't need power, he didn't need to impress his brothers and his parents. He just needed to be happy, and happy he was. Currently. He knew that when they returned to Arendelle, Elsa would be cured and have to go back to her duties, as would he. Most everyone still wanted him at least mildly maimed, and Fredrick probably had every intention of working him to the bone once again. Anna was possibly just reaching neutral, and Kristoff and Sven were very unlikely to ever warm up to him. Olaf seemed alright, though. He was Olaf._

_But Olaf wasn't the one Hans was worried about loosing._

_It wasn't like she was his, because she certainly wasn't. Hans had figured you couldn't possess a human being, just like you couldn't possess the sky. The sky was the sky and a person was a person, and they owned each other before any one person could say otherwise. But despite all this, he really wanted her to be his. His to hug, his to kiss, his to hold. Not because of her standing as a queen. Now, he really couldn't give two shits. He just wanted a companion, and she seemed like a damn good match._

_Hans was unaware he'd become lost in his thoughts until Elsa came over and shook his arm, pointing to the right. "I think we're slightly off course." She said. Hans looked around and then up at the faint stars and down at his compass, then around and at his map before nodding._

_"Uh, uh, right. We are." He redirected their ship accordingly. "Thanks, Elsa."_

_"What's got you so dazed?" She asked curiously._

You,  _Hans thought quietly. "Uh, nothing."_

_"Has to be something."_

_"Just thinking."_

_"About what?"_

_"You." Hans stopped and bit his lip. Elsa blinked and cocked her head at him, before a sly smile crept onto her lips._

_"Me, you say?"_

_"Uh, no, no I wasn't thinking of you-I mean-I-not that way-or-uh-"_

_"You know I haven't forgotten that time we awkwardly admitted we were attracted to each other." She smiled almost smugly. Hans found himself blushing and wanted to punch himself in the face._

_"Neither have I." He admitted. The experience beforehand where he had rather unintentionally admitted his attraction towards the young queen stuck to him like a lollipop to hair._

_"And," she continued, walking to his side so their arms touched, "I'm still rather attracted too you."_

_Hans looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and leaned on the steering wheel. "Well, the attraction is mutual."_

_"Is it skin deep?" She continued to look forward, hands firmly clasped in front of her, "or am I more than something pretty to look at?"_

_"You've always been more than something pretty to look at." Hans said earnestly. "When I first came to Arendelle, I had my eyes set on you because I wanted the throne. But even when I first met you and you completely ignored me, I could feel you were...different. Kind of mysterious, always on the sidelines and the like. When I found out you'd caused the storms, I was impressed, to be honest. I mean, I didn't like what happened in the town itself and I know you don't either, but I was impressed that you were far more powerful than you let on. Then meeting you in the dungeon and...getting to know you more on the island and so on...well, you're interesting. And fine to look at, I'll say."_

_Elsa grinned a bit. "You've become rather charming as you've peeled away the skin of whatever that thing was that came to my coronation."_

_"Heheh." Hans nervously chuckled. "I try."_

_"You've succeeded." She smiled, and then it faded. "No one back at the castle would approve of this."_

_"No, they wouldn't." Hans agreed sadly._

_"Though, maybe...it would make them warm up to you a bit more?" Elsa suggested, looking up at Hans. "You could help me with paperwork and meetings and the like, instead of slaving away outside doing everything that Fredrick and whoever else doesn't want to do. If you...prove yourself they might...well, forgive you might not be the word but-"_

_"Come to terms that I'm not a power-hungry psychopath out to murder the princess and queen of Arendelle?"_

_"Yeah, that."_

_Hans smiled at Elsa. "I'd like that."_

_She returned the smile and kissed him. It was inexperienced and honestly she missed most his mouth, but it was a sweet attempt nonetheless. She seemed to realize just how much she bombed the kiss and blushed deeply._

_"Sorry. That was...was really awkward." She gave him a nervous half smile. Hans slipped a hand onto her cheek, one remaining on the wheel, and grinned._

_"Still a really good try. Though...I'd more like to kiss_  both  _of your lips." And then he did. Full on lip contact, no mistakes. It was rather lovely, Hans would say. He parted from Elsa and noticed the blush had spread from her cheeks and was now around her shoulders and eyes as well. She resembled a strange tomato, but she was a nice looking strange tomato. They kissed again, a few times, all soft and none-to-serious. They still held meaning, though. After their last kiss Hans put an arm around Elsa's shoulders, and she leaned against his far larger frame, and they both stared out at the sea, a silent promise between each other that they would make this work out._

The sound of rolling stone slowly drew Hans out of his reverie, and he saw Grand Pabbie standing in front of Elsa. He anxiously looked the young woman over while everyone else stood slightly to the side, watching with anxious eyes. He murmured to himself and ran his hand along her forehead and held her hand, then rested his hand on her chest, over where the bullet had exited the body and narrowly missed Anna. After a long pause, Grand Pabbie stepped back with a defeated look on his face.

"Grand Pabbie?" Kristoff asked hesitantly. Grand Pabbie looked to him and shook his head.

"I don't know." He said. "She's frozen like Anna, but she wasn't struck in the heart." He was quiet a moment. "Then again, it did probably hit a lung. Which would have killed her, more than likely. This ice...it isn't her ice. It's the ice of the monster, though it seems the antidote did enough of its work to destroy its power to freeze anything else that touches it. I get the feeling it was some sort of defense mechanism or some such. It...it really isn't exactly explainable. Some things like this aren't."

Rowen nodded while looking at Kristoff and Anna. "Magic works strangely and unpredictably."

"No kidding." Anna managed, holding her handkerchief over her nose, eyes read and puffy.

"She's still alive." Grand Pabbie said. "But she's not aware of anything going on. It's kind of like a coma."

"A magical coma." Rowen added."

"Yes. Or a magic enduced coma. Sort of." Grand Pabbie seemed to struggle slightly to find the correct description as he said this. "And I can't tell any way to break it. She isn't made of ice, but rather coated in it." He breathed deeply. "I've never seen it before."

"Can't we...melt it off?" Anna suggested.

"We could try." Grand Pabbie nodded.

So they did. They brought out candles and held them to her arm and torches and oil lamps. They held it against her arms and legs and the tips of her dress. One guard who was particularly stupid even broke a kerosene lamp by throwing it on Elsa, and was immediately fired afterward. Even that burn of flame did nothing. They left candles and torches lit under her body for a number of hours and not even a drop of water came off. Feeling utterly depressed and defeated, the group headed into the castle. The lot of them retreated to the library, where Mrs. Nork came in with strong coffee and chocolate. She couldn't seem to muster a smile, but she did manage to give Anna a few words of encouragement. The young girl smiled slightly at Mrs. Nork in a thanking manner and took a cup of coffee. Mrs. Nork looked at Hans, and they both sighed before she left. Rowen came in with Dai, who was mostly down to the sniffles, wrapped up in a blanket. She sat down on the couch next to Hans, Anna and Kristoff taking the one opposite of them.

"What are we gonna do?" Anna asked meekly, staring at her coffee that still showed swirls of creamer.

Everyone but Anna immediately looked to Grand Pabbie. The ancient boulder returned their gazes with a sad face and sighed. "I do not know what to do now...like I said, this isn't normal. None of the curses...froze."

"Come on, there has to be something Grand Pabbie?" Kristoff urged, though his voice was un-believing. Anna looked over, eyes wide and doe-like, still on the verge of tears.

Grand Pabbie sighed. He got down from his chair and paused. "I feel like something else is going to happen, but I don't know what. I'll go home and look through my books to see if I can find anything, but until then I think you all should...try and rest."

The group somberly nodded. Grand Pabbie took his leave. Anna was quick to get up and excuse herself, Kristoff following near immediately. Rowen sighed and leaned back on the couch, then looked at Hans.

"Who're you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hans." He said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Used to be Prince Hans, but I kind of got disowned."

"Ow. Why?" She adjusted Dai, who seemed to be sleeping.

"Well, um, a year ago I kind of almost killed Elsa. And Anna."

Rowen's eyes widened, and he saw immediate hatred in them. Before she could go ballistic he ran her through what happened in detail along with what he'd been doing in the past month or so, mentioning especially that he was with Elsa on the island. She stared at him a moment, but nodded.

"I see."

Hans looked her up and down. She was unusually muscular, especially for a woman, and her arm seemed grotesquely contorted in one part, like the flesh had been mangled by a wild animal. "Who are you?"

"Rowen. Elsa's imaginary friend. Well, not anymore. She thought I was imaginary then I showed up."

Hans blinked. "Alright then."

She looked down at the bundle in her arms. "And this is my son, Dai."

"Ah." Hans gave a kind smile and slightly waved to the lump of blankets and small child. The lump simply turned over, facing his mother, and started snoring quietly. Hans chuckled. "Active little fellow, isn't he."

"Oh yes," Rowen joked, standing. She nodded to him. "Well, glad to know who you are."

"Likewise." Hans agreed, standing as well. Rowen wordlessly left the library, and Hans soon followed, heading to his customary tower. He climbed the stairs in a both tired and disheartened way. When He looked out the skinny window in his wall, he got a perfect view of the courtyard. A perfect view of Elsa, frozen, candles still lit around her, shining on her ice stricken body with an angle like softness. A strange sort of guilt was sitting like a brick of lead in his stomach, like he should have been able to stop the bullet, or that he should know how to release Elsa from her icy case. But he didn't. There was nothing he knew that could help. The candles hadn't urged a drop of water to fall, and neither Grand Pabbie or Rowen had much of an idea of what to do either.

A lump in his throat quickly formed, and it hurt to swallow. Hans turned away from the window to avoid crying from the guilt and the pain, dressing down to his underwear and laying down on his sagging cot, bringing the scratchy blanket around him and gripping it, completely unaware how wrong he was. Completely unaware of just how much he could do for the dear queen of Arendelle.


	28. Escape

For weeks they tried. For weeks, Grand Pabbie read books in his and the castle's libraries. For weeks, Anna would go to Elsa's statue and beg her to come back, before tearfully reassuring her that they would get her out. Kristoff wandered the woods in search of someone or something that could help. Rowen tried spells, as did several council members upon Grand Pabbie's request. Nothing worked. At night, when everyone else was in the castle, at least trying to sleep, Hans would go to the courtyard, kneel by the frozen form of his love, and think. He'd think of why it had to happen to her, and why he couldn't stop it. He'd think of what had already done, and try to figure out something new. He'd think of her hair in the sunlight, twinkling like snow, and then he'd think about the seven seas, and wished that they could go. To Italy, or Germany, or all away to America. He wished he could show her the Florida bayous and walk with her in a Kansas prairie. Or take a gondola through Venice, try all of Germany's chocolate. Something, damn it.

And at the end of his thinking, Hans would rise and nod to a guard, and leave, just as quietly as when he'd come.

Slowly, at first, but continuously progressing, was the simultaneous drought and freezing of the kingdom of Arendelle.

It started at Elsa's body, a first slowly creeping ice that covered the ground thickly. It didn't freeze whatever it touched, they discovered, but it didn't stop growing. Each day there was double the ice there was before. 2 feet to four feet, four feet to eight feet, and so on and so fourth until the entire courtyard and surrounding area was covered in ice. While this happened, some strange sort of drought began. The trees became weak, pine needles turning brown and most leaves refusing to grow. Farmers reported their livestock had little grass to eat, and they had even less to farm. Anna, arising to the occasion, started calling for aid from allied countries. They responded, bringing food for the people and hay for the animals, and then water, when the lakes dried up and it was discovered not even the strongest ice pick could break the ice that was rapidly progressing towards the town. Within a month or less, it was all covered in slick ice, like a tiny model of a winter town one might buy in a toy store. Aid continued to come, but it was nearly fruitless. Many livestock died from cold or inability to quit sliding around long enough to grab a mouthful of hay. Residents took to getting around in ice skates provided by the castle, and no one was ever caught wearing less than two layers of clothing.

The castle residents realized they had a crises on their hands. Anna called a meeting of herself, Rowen, Kristoff, Grand Pabbie, and Hans.

"We've got to do something." She croaked. The young princess looked strained and tired. She spent hours every day out in the village, trying to get the needs of her subjects down on paper. She worked late into the night as well, helping the men who brought in shipments of water and food.

"We can't melt the ice." Rowen said, looking very tired herself. She was running her hand over her arm that bore the disgusting spot of mangled flesh from who-knows-when. "I've tried every fire spell, every sun spell, earth spell. I've tried curse repeals and even lambs blood. Nothings doing it."

"I can't find anything in my books." Grand Pabbie sighed. "And the council members say they can't figure anything out, either. They say it would take an intense amount of heat, heat no one is capable of."

"Couldn't you gather a bunch of witches and have them all perform a fire spell?" Anna asked desperately, resting her full weight on the table. Kristoff came over and put an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder rhythmically, hoping to calm his strained girlfriend.

"No, I don't think so." He shook his head. "From what they've told me, it has to be literal and emotional. There has to be raw, real emotion behind the one with the flames."

"Love?" Anna asked quietly, staring at the table.

"Love, passion. Anger, sorrowfulness. Some emotion, some emotion that a person feels about Elsa that is so powerful it fuels the flames. It...is a near impossible idea, to find someone to do such."

"But Rowen loves Elsa and she hasn't been able to melt her?" She said, fiddling with her mitten hands. Rowen looked down slightly in shame.

"Not that I can find." He shook his head. The group all consecutively sighed. Kristoff pitched the idea of trying to melt the other ice, but everyone shot it down and reminded him that they'd already tried it several times. Crafting a diamond ice pick, carpeting all of Arendelle, trying to magically form a new type of livestock and plant to sustain the village while they attempted to get out of this mess. A dozen or so other ideas were pitched by everyone but Hans, who stood at the end of the table, opposite of Anna. When the group had exhausted all options, Anna slowly raised her head and looked at the young man.

"Hans, you got any ideas?"

All eyes turned to him. Hans looked at them then at his hands. They were back to becoming blistered and calloused. He spent his days struggling to keep the castle animals alive with the stable hands, and assisting the villagers with heating their houses and gathering requests. Everything was sore and tired. Everything but his brain. He stood up, knowing from experience that people were more likely to take someone seriously when they did the same with themselves.

"I've been thinking a lot lately." He started, looking around. "Elsa is unaware of what is going on around her. She's sleeping, by the simplest definition. To my knowledge, she has no concept of time."

"She doesn't." Grand Pabbie confirmed, raising an eyebrow.

Hans nodded once. "Right. Elsa is in no danger. She's in no pain, she has no concept of time or what is going on around her. Can we all agree on that?"

Slowly, the group nodded. Anna pushed herself into a standing position, leaning into Kristoff's larger frame for comfort.

"Good. Then I think we can all agree that, since Elsa is in no immediate danger, that the only danger is to ourselves and the villagers, people who are living and breathing. We can't keep going like this. Relying on other countries. Arendelle is going to rack up a debt it can't even dream to pay off within the next hundred years. People will get sick from the cold. They'll get tired and they'll leave any way they can, long as the water is open."

"Where are you going with this?" Kristoff asked impatiently, lips beginning to purse.

"In short, we need to get out. Move off of Arendelle and somewhere else. Otherwise we'll probably all die in one way or another."

"That's, that's crazy." Anna said, not wanting to believe it. "Where would we go?!"

"The Southern Isles." Hans said, flipping out a letter he'd kept for such an occasion. "I've been talking to my brother via pigeon. My father stepped down from the throne after," Hans had to pause momentarily; even though the news was over a month old, it still hurt to admit, "my mother's death."

The room all consecutively frowned, but no one said anything. Hans cleared his throat.

"Anyway, um. With my father's stepping down came my brother, August. He's not as much of an un-moving rock as my father, and started messaging me, saying I could come home if I wanted. I told him about what's been going on the past few months and after some talking we concluded that, if the residents of Arendelle wished to move for the sake of their safety, they were welcome to come to one of the Isles islands. It would fit Arendelle's people and ourselves very well...it'd take some getting used to climate wise, but otherwise, it's safe. We'd still be able to come back here and work at figuring things out, but long term, we'd be safe."

Anna stared at Hans, then glanced at Kristoff. Kristoff was furrowing his brow and bit his lip, looking to Grand Pabbie. Grand Pabbie wasn't looking at anybody, his eyes directed to the table.

"He has a point." Rowen said quietly, after a moment. "Elsa's not in any immediate danger. But everyone else, ourselves included, is. I think...I think it has to be done."

"B-But what about Elsa?" Anna whispered quietly. Kristoff put a strong hand on her shoulder, which she reached up and held with her own. "I-I can't leave her. I won't."

"You have too." Came Grand Pabbie's voice, tired and crackly. He turned his head to the young couple, craggily face showing age lines deeper than most could think existed. "You have too, for the sake of Arendelle."

"But...but Grand Pabbie," Kristoff began, brow knit in concern. "What about you? And mom and, and the rest of the family?"

"We'll manage just fine, Kristoff." He smiled just slightly, though it looked painful for him to do so. "We have ways of managing. We don't need things like you all do. We can stay. We'll help the animals that have managed to remain thus far, and we'll keep plugging away at Elsa's case. See if there's something. See if we can find someone. I'll ask my council friends to help."

"But-" Kristoff stopped himself, then slowly nodded, slipping his hand to Anna's waist in a rather protective manner. Grand Pabbie nodded, looking to Rowen. "Take your boy and keep him safe." She blinked, but nodded. Grand Pabbie then turned to Hans, looking for a long time. His eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head to the side slightly.

"And you, Hans..." He paused again, "you keep thinking. There's something about you that I can't quite put my finger on. Something getting...bigger."

Everyone shifted their gaze to Hans, then to Grand Pabbie. The ancient boulder looked at them and breathed deeply. "Lets get moving."

* * *

Within two weeks all of Arendelle's subjects were aboard ships and sailing through the open waters, towards the island promised by Hans's brother. They carried what possessions they could with them, knowing homes would be provided upon arrival, though this did little to ease their aching stomachs as they sailed further and further away from their dear, dear home.

Hans stood at the bow of the ship, legs crossed at the ankles, elbows resting on the railing. He was thinking, again, like Grand Pabbie had advised. He was thinking on what he said.  _"Something I can't quite put my finger on. Something getting...bigger."_  
"Bigger." Hans muttered. "What could he possibly mean by bigger?" He pursed his lips and hung his head, inhaling the salty air. "Bigger, bigger, bigger..."

"Hans?"

The soft voice startled the young man enough to make him jump. Once he realized who it was, he pivoted on his heel and stared at her. Anna was standing, looking tired but not as tired as she had during the meeting. She stepped towards him, pausing, observing. Her eyes were keener behind the grey bags under them. Her face was dull with exhaustion, and her hair seemed to follow suit, slightly messy and looking a bit thin.

"What did Grand Pabbie mean when he said he...saw something in you he couldn't quite put his finger on?"

Hans blinked at her and breathed deeply. "That's what I've been trying to figure out."

"You don't know?" She cocked her head to the side.

"No, no idea. I don't really...feel any different. I mean, not like something...is growing?" He scratched at his unshaven face, making a mental note to get his hands on a razor in the near future. "I just kind of feel confused."

Anna sighed deeply. "I was hoping you'd say the exact opposite."

"I was too." Hans admitted, leaning against the edge of the ship. "Maybe I'll be able too soon, I guess. I was thinking I might try the royal library. We've got more books than Arendelle."

"Sounds like a good idea." Anna nodded. "Are you going to stay on the island with the rest of us?"

Hans quirked an eyebrow up. "Do I detect a tone of hopefulness?"

Anna quickly crossed her arms. "No."

"Liar." He smiled a bit. Anna attempted to look angry, but she only succeeded in looking rather adorable. "Admit it, Anna."

"I won't admit I'm hopeful you'll stay at the island, but...I will admit I wont hate it if you do." Anna paused, one hand paused on its way to scratch her chin. "And I will admit you're not the monster I thought you were."

"I take that with the utmost gratitude, your highness." Hans slowly took a low bow, tipping his head up and giving Anna a lighthearted grin. Anna's tired face formed a small smile, and she patted Hans's head.

"Good boy."

Hans snorted and stood up again. He glanced out to the water, then to Anna. "You should get some sleep, Anna. You could use it."

Anna scratched her chin, then lightly ran her hand along her cheek. "I think you're right...you should do the same too."

"I will, soon enough." Hans nodded. Anna waved slightly, and left to her cabin. Hans turned back to the open water. The cool sea breeze blew his hair back, the coolness of it leaking through to his scalp and sending a shiver down his spine. The midday sun shone on the waves as they gently swayed on their way, taking Hans and all of Arendelle to their new home.

 


	29. Anna, Hans, and a Box

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ferdinand the Bull wasn't published until 1936, and this story takes place in 1864. I'm aware of the time...difference, thing.

The group arrived at the island on time. Hans's brother, August, greeted them warmly and explained that they would be staying on the expansive land until they could reclaim their own. He had palace servants step forward and help the villagers settle into pre-made houses that would easily accommodate the average family, and each had space for farming. The smell of lemons was strong, but the overall intensity was far less than anything on Hans's private island, with very few complaints from the villagers or the royals. Anna and Kristoff engaged in helping the villagers settle. Rowen and Dai went with one servant to look through the larger house made to house the previous castle occupants. Hans stayed behind and looked at his brother.

August was not a tall man, but he was definitely authoritative in looks. He and Hans had matching flaming hair and green eyes. August was more chiseled than Hans though, and also possessed a few grey streaks in his hair, yet his beard remained solid red. August looked up at Hans slightly and paused.

"Never thought I'd see you again, Hans." He said, his tone rather detached, as it had always been.

"Same here." Hans said awkwardly. His brother was staring at him like he was a stranger even more than usual. He couldn't exactly blame him, though. The last time August had seen his brother he'd still been in royal garb. Now Hans wore commoner clothes of basic cotton and worn boots that had been a hand-me-down from a stable hand at the palace. The colors were dull and he had an overall drab look too him, especially compared to his brother.

"Most the others have kind of gotten over what happened." August said and then, quietly, he added, "they still don't really want to see you. Especially not Father. He still feels you're an utterly disgraceful coward of a human being."

"Love you too, Dad." Hans joked quietly. This actually earned a nip of a smile from August.

"Nevertheless, he told me to give you this." August pulled a small wooden box from his pocket, decorated with the Southern Isles emblem. "Mother left it to you. Said it'd help you...figure something out." He handed it over to Hans, who stared at the cover. "She said that she couldn't keep it from you anymore. Father didn't even know what it was; he seems to be loosing his mind a bit, in a rather literal sense..."

Hans nodded, not surprised the old man was loosing some of the light upstairs. He unlatched the box and flipped it open. Inside was a single note, rolled and neatly tied with his mother's signature golden ribbon. He didn't really want to open it; it was something un-touched by anyone but his mother. The only memento he had of her, at the time, besides a couple of letters they exchanged before her passing. Nevertheless, he felt he had too. Like what she had left him was extremely important, either for the present or the future. Or maybe for his aching heart that had lost so much in so little time that it might give up if there wasn't some sort of relief.

So he undid the ribbon, careful to keep it in the box, and opened the slightly yellowed parchment, looking over the message that was written in handwriting of a far younger woman than Hans could much remember his mother to be;

_Hans,_

_Your father thinks I'm writing a letter to your aunt. He can't find out that I'm trying to tell you this, but the guilt is eating me alive. Go to the place where we read Ferdinand the Bull on Sundays and follow the dancing light._

_With the greatest love,_

_Mama._

Hans stared at the paper for a long time, re reading it again and again and again. He stood there for so long, staring at the paper, that August became worried and tried to get a look at it. Hans registered the attempt and got it out of his brother's eyesight in the most casual way possible, folding it up and putting it in the box.

"What...did it say?" His brother asked curiously.

"It was just...an apology." Hans said. A warm feeling was just below his chest, almost in his gut but somewhere else as couldn't tell what it meant. It did't quite feel like anticipation, but it wasn't any odd sense of fear. It burned slightly, like when you got sick to your stomach, but it didn't hurt. It was almost happy, or relieving. Something was going to fall into place, though he didn't know what. One detail of the note confused Hans, and he looked to his brother. "Do you remember Mother ever reading to me?"

August blinked. "Uh, plenty, when you were younger. She read to all of us when we were little."

"Did she ever read Ferdinand the Bull to me? I...I can't quite remember."

August nodded just a bit. Hans could feel a murky memory that consisted of blurred and smeared colors in the back of his mind begin to surface. "Did she read it to me anywhere specific?"

August raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why?"

"I just...the letter mentioned it." Hans nodded to the box. "She was sorry she stopped reading."

August slowly nodded. "She was always sorry about that; she read to you the least out of all of us. I think you were a little more than three, maybe four." He shrugged. "But I don't know exactly where she read to you. I remember she'd always pick up the book and take you outside after church, and I don't think you ever went far from the house. It was always by the South wing, though. I remember that much."

Hans nodded a bit and pocketed the box with its letter. "Will there be a ferry coming here?"

August nodded. "Once a week so that the people can get things on the main island if they need too. If your asking because of that letter, I can just take you back with me right now." August nodded to his small ship that he'd sailed over in. Hans shook his head politely, nodding towards the village. "I'll just catch the ferry when it comes. I have to help out here."

August paused before nodding and then the brothers parted awkwardly, August to his ship and Hans to the people and servants who were assisting them. It took time, but everyone was in a house and relatively settled before dusk. In the new home of the main crew, Hans was given an actual room, equivalent to all the rest there. It had a comfortable bed and a wash basin with a mirror, a small wardrobe and a nightstand with a full oil lamp. Hans had to give his brother credit, he could make a very nice town in a very small amount of time. With no work to be done on the pristine island, Hans went to his room and sat with the box and the letter, reading it over and over again. There was a knock at the door.

"I swear, Fredrick, if you're going to try and make me do some sort of work, I'll shove your fat little butt under the sink." Hans said loudly.

"...I don't think Fredrick would fit under the sink."

Hans blinked at Anna's voice and got up, throwing on a light button-up after remembering the unintended embarrassment that arose from his last interaction with a female while shirtless. He opened the door and looked down at the young woman, who still looked tired but again decidedly less so. She had on her night gown and her arms were crossed.

"You're probably right, I would lock him in the pantry, though." Hans said.

"That would probably work better...can I come in?"

Hans mentally compared this Anna with the one on the ship, and then the near murderous one from a number of months ago before nodding and stepping to the side. Anna entered, looking around, and stood in the middle of the room as Hans closed the door.

"Um...what do you-"

"What's in the box?" Anna asked, twirling around until her eyes landed on the box, which sat open on Hans's bedside table. She started to move for it, but stopped herself and turned to him. "I saw you talking to your brother and he handed it to you, and you froze like..." Anna stopped, seemingly flashing back to Elsa, before shaking her head. "Like a frozen person."

Hans refrained from snorting and walked over. "Well, uh, it's from my mother."

Anna nodded a bit. "I heard you mumbling about it and Ferdinand the Bull earlier. What was that about?"

"Why are you so nosy?" Hans raised an eyebrow.

"Because I'm a little sister." She smirked just slightly. "You're the youngest of thirteen boys, you gotta relate somehow."

Hans blinked before nodding slightly, remembering several occasions that he had snooped in his older brothers' things, or pestered them relentlessly. "Well, yeah, but is that the only reason?"

"Sort of. You just seemed a bit off today." Anna shrugged. "And I'm curious. And nosy."

Hans was quiet for a second before making a quick descion and taking the box. He offered Anna the letter, which she took gently and read over. She furrowed her brow and looked up at him.

"What does she mean by this?"

"I don't know. I get the feeling it might have to do with a...passageway or something? I just know i need to find where she read Ferdinand the Bull too me. I was really little so I can't remember much but I...I think there was a tree or, or something..."

Anna blinked and then handed him back the letter, which he put in the box and then closed, setting it on the bedside table. "What do you think she hid from ya?"

"Hell if I know." Hans shrugged. "She hid it. Apparently Dad didn't approve...so..." Hans sighed. "I was going to go look around the palace when the ferry comes in a few days."

Anna nodded. Things were a bit awkward for a few moments. Neither person spoke, Hans because he didn't know what to say, and Anna because she was thinking over what she was going to say, though Hans didn't know that. Eventually, Anna put her hands behind her back and looked up at Hans.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"What?" Hans asked.

"Can I help you look for the spot? I mean, I don't know what I could do, but I don't want to leave you to do it yourself."

Hans paused. It would be nice to have some company, even if that company had spent most of her time thinking homicide thoughts of him before a short time ago. "Alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt..."

"Great!" Anna said, suddenly chipper. "I'll meet you at the ferry when it shows up."

"Alright." Hans smiled a bit and nodded. After that Anna went to the door and opened it to leave, turning around and smiling a bit. "Goodnight, Hans."

"Goodnight." Hans responded, waving a bit as she shut the door. Hans breathed the deeply and sat down on his bed. He removed his shirt and laid down, watching the light of his oil lamp wave and flicker in the warm breeze coming from the partly opened window to his right. Slowly, Hans closed his eyes, hands behind his head, and he dreamed. He dreamed of hope. Of finding the spot where his mother had read to him, of helping Arendelle get along in their new surroundings. He dreamed of people growing to like and trust him again. He dreamed of having that sort of security. He dreamed of his mother, and he dreamed of his father, and how much he wished he knew what he'd made his mother keep hidden. Finally, as the remnants of pictures and dreams slowly faded to the blackness of deep slumber, Hans dreamed of Elsa, of her smile and her laugh. Her affectation for overly-strong coffee, and her ability to make the heavy steps he took each day just a little bit lighter. The moving picture of her in his mind, her soft face and warm smile so opposite to the cold, hard ice she conjured, slowly began to fade, curling like it was sucked into a vortex until there was nothing but blackness, and the warm feeling of hope.

 


	30. The Ivy Circle

Time passed, the people of Arendelle began to adjust to their new surroundings. Servants of August came each day and helped them, answering any questions they had. Hans and Anna and the rest of the residents of the new royal housing helped as they could as well. Most the castle servants worked to make the foreign area more homey. Hans still did a good bit of grunt work, but was now assisted by Kristoff and Rowen, who was even stronger than she appeared. She could lift just as much as him and Kristoff and seemed to almost enjoy the labor. Dai was always at her heels, handing her a tool or rolling something out of her and the men's way. Everyone was fond of the child and he was giddy to receive praise from them.

Eventually the ferry to the main island arrived, and Hans and Anna left on it. Kristoff weakly protested, but Anna convinced him she'd be alright, even taking a fighting knife with her to reassure him, which she held around her waist in a holster. They reached the main island rather quickly. It was modern, with brick walkways and primarily birch houses. Lemons and oranges were in no shortage around houses and in the market, along with a substantial amount of fish. Everything was rather clean, people included, and exceedingly bright and cheery.

"I've never seen anywhere so...sunny." Anna commented.

"Yeah, it's kind of our thing." Hans shrugged. "Sun, fruit, and peppers. And ships. We like ships." Hans nodded to a rather extensive lineup of merchant and military ships at respective docks. "But that's not the point." He took out the cloak Mrs. Nork had made him and put it around him, pulling the hood up so it hid his features.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? It's flaming hot here." Anna couldn't comprehend Hans's absolute insanity at the moment.

"It's fine. I don't want anyone to recognize me; I don't want to explain anything." Hans began walking, his stride confident and his back straight. It felt nice to stand straight. He's gotten rather used to slouching, the pressure on the subject in his recent occupation little to none. Anna jogged momentarily to catch up and let her eyes wander as they went. She spotted the palace, three times the size of Arendelle's, white as pure silk with gold and red accents on its towers and doors and windows. Hans passed through the market crowd unobtrusively, making sure Anna wasn't far behind, and stopped at the gates to the palace. A guard looked down at him suspiciously. Hans flipped down his hood. The guard gasped and pursed his lips.

"I've previously arranged coming here, Fritz." Hans told the guard. Fritz looked grudgingly at his fellow gate water, in a tower opposite him, and quietly pulled a switch with him. The golden gates leading to the palace opened gently, and Hans entered with Anna after thanking both guards.

"You know that guard well?" Anna asked, looking around the extensive grounds. Green, lush grass and several topiary bushes were around the white brick walkway that greeted them. Sunflowers that were taller than any man grew by the front door, and several potted flowers were tastefully set elsewhere on the grounds.

"Not really. I just know all their names." Hans said, turning down the pathway and heading towards the back of the palace, where there was a large field with blooming daises scattered in clusters.

"Why?" Anna asked curiously. She knew most the guards and all the staff names at the castle, but Arendelle wasn't nearly as big as this place.

"Because almost everyone in my family forgot my name on a regular basis." Hans said, a hint of sadness in his tone. "I spent most my time with the staff and servants, so I made it my business to learn all of their names, since they were the only people who cared to remember mine."

Anna frowned deeply. Hans seemed to ignore the change in expression and walked with her to the south side of the palace, facing the field at a diagonal angle. There was a large circle of white and red brick with benches and potted plants around it. Vines curled up strategically placed poles, making a canopy over the circle. They grew on the pots and the stone benches as well, even starting on the brick. Then there was an entrance into the palace, and another entrance into a courtyard. At the corner of the main walkway, between the field and the entrance to the courtyard, Hans stopped and looked around, moving slowly in a circle, soaking it in. Anna remained respectfully quiet, hands folded in front of her. Eventually Hans exhaled deeply and turned to Anna.

"You start around here," he gestured towards the field and the ivy-shaded circle, "I'll go through the courtyard and around the end of the South side. Ok?"

Anna nodded. "Sure."

Hans smiled a titch and glanced over his shoulder. "I remember something about this place. We'll find it..."

They separated. Anna began with the ivy circle, as she'd now dubbed it, and searched. She looked up through the ivy and down at the dirt around the stone. She scratched at the benches and kicked them so their legs would move, only revealing years of dirt and some rolli-polli bugs. She even tried to wrench up a brick, but it seemed they were laid into concrete. She then went out into the field, tapping each brick in the walkway that her foot came in contact with, listening for any peculiar sound as if she was Sherlock Holmes. She continued to the field and searched it. It was easy to see there was nothing in the lush but flat land. She came back around the building, feeling rather disheartened. She wanted so much for this to mean something. She wanted for it to bring something good to her and everyone else, including Hans. It'd taken nearly a year, but she finally admitted it: Hans was  _not_ the man she'd thought he was.

He was kind and compassionate and caring. He had a sense of humor and seemed much a kid at heart. He'd been a victim of his surroundings. He'd been molded into something else over years of burning desire that had clouded his thinking, his logic and his heart. She'd put it together piece by piece, from what she'd overheard when he was talking with Mrs. Nork, or what he'd told her himself when they'd first met and after the fact. Even Elsa had offhandedly told her things, which had made her rather suspicious on exactly what sort of relationship between her sister and Hans had developed while abroad. She didn't think too much on the factor, though.

Either way it broke her that she'd yet to find anything to assist them. But, as luck would have it, something caught her eye. By the ivy circle was a row of tall hedges, and at a spot in that row something poked out from beneath them. Curious, Anna went over and bent down. It was a dead flower, a tulip of some sort. It seemed out of place in such a well kept grounds. When she looked closer, she realized it wasn't attached to anything. It must have been blown by the wind. Anna thought it odd. There was no signs of any other dead plants around the grounds. No one had picked it up, so it must have been recent. On a hunch, Anna stuck her hand through the hedge, wiggling her fingers in the open air behind it until they caught on something coarse and crinkly. She pulled her hand back through and found in it another dead tulip. This time Anna reached both hands through the bush and pushed the hedge apart, gasping at what she saw.

"HANS!" Anna jumped up and ran into the courtyard. Hans ran out at the same moment. The two smashed into each other at top speed, flinging back onto the brick. Disoriented Hans cursed and began to rise up, only to be pulled to his feet by ecstatic Anna, who then dragged him to the hedge and, due to to extra weight running behind her that didn't stop in time, both fell through to the other side. Anna blinked and looked around, then looked at Hans.

"I think I found something." She grinned. Hans nodded slowly, not looking at her, the splashes of color in his mind pulling together to form a picture.

_"Come on, darling." Queen Helen held out a hand to her youngest son. The boy took it giddily as they walked out of the palace, towards a multi-colored hue that preceded them, slowly forming into grass and walkway. His mother had a book tucked under her arm-Ferdinand the Bull. He was happy. Outside was warm._

Hans pushed himself to his feet and helped Anna up before dusting himself off. Dead flowers were strewn around the perimeter of the hedge circle.

_They were her favorite. Tulips. Blue, purple, pink, yellow, red. She got up early every morning to tend to them. No one knew except her and Hans, she said. It was their little secret._

They were all gone. She hadn't tended to them in a long time. She'd been tired and weak for over a year before Hans had been sent to Arendelle. He bent down beside one of the dead plants, a splash of magenta from his memory going over them. He frowned. Anna hovered behind Hans and looked up at him when he stood and turned around.

_"Come sit with Mommy," she'd say. Her skirts swept around her ankles when she sat on the bench. Hans gripped its cagily surface with his soft, pudgy hands and clumsily hauled himself up. Mother laughed and righted him, brushing off his palms. He was a strong little boy, just like Ferdinand._

"Hans?" Anna waved her hand in front of his face. Hans lightly took her hand and moved it down, walking towards the mossy bench. It was cracked slightly over where his mother used to sit. The grass was especially dead around it, more brown and yellow than anywhere else. He sat where he used to sit and ran his hand along the slight groove that came from his mother, who sat there every day of every week of every year early in the morning after tending her tulips.

_Hans handed her a tulip. His mother smiled, then cocked her head whens he saw there was still a clump of dirt at the end. "What is this, Hans?"_

_"I didn't wanna kill the flower, Mommy." He said, scooting towards her. Mother had smiled, brightly and widely. She'd held his face in one hand and kissed his forehead. By the bench she had dug a little hole with her finger and stuck the pretty orange flower in it, inhaling its gentle perfume before turning back to Hans and smiling._

_"Thank you, my little Ferdinand."_

Hans looked down by the bench, seeing that the tulip he'd given his mother, or at least its descendant, remained far less dead than the other flowers. It only drooped, and retained much of its color. On an impulse, Hans dug with his fingers around it, gently slipping his hand through the dirt and pulling up the flower, whose roots were long and dry looking.

"Hans, what are you doing?" Anna asked, coming over, looking bewildered and slightly annoyed. "You haven't said a word since we crashed in here."

"This is where my mother read to me." He said softly. He held up the flower a bit. "I gave her this flower and she planted it right here..."

Anna smiled a bit. "That's sweet."

Hans smiled back and nodded, looking where the hole was. He gently handed the flower to Anna and stuck his finger in the dirt. It came in contact with something hard. He quickly dug, finding an old metal box with a bouquet of tulips on the cover.

"Is that what she was talking about?!" Anna gasped. Hans nodded, quickly flipping up the latch and opening the box. Out popped a light. It was small and rather blue, showing in the air with a smoky essence around it. Hans was so shocked he dropped the box. Anna just stared. The orb gently went to the tulip in Anna's hands and circled around it. The flower immediately bloomed. Hans slowly stood while watching in stunned silence. Slowly, the orb went around and did this to the rest of the garden, all the tulips blooming and the grass growing lush. Even the bench was fixed to look new.

"What the hell is that." Hans asked, his voice a disbelieving whisper.

"It's a charm of some kind." Anna said. "An essence one. I read about them with Kristoff when we were trying to find out what was wrong with Elsa...people put a bit of themselves in it and it stays there when they die. Usually they're left to finish business that can't be done when the person is alive."

Hans watched the little blue orb and followed it with Anna to the other end of the garden. Behind some tulips it dropped. It made a circle in the dirt, which glowed, and then floated back by Hans. Hans looked at it then hesitantly went to the circle in the dirt and scooped out the soil. There was another box, simple and un-decorated. He opened it. Inside was a small pair of sewing scissors that glowed a ghostly white. Before he could grab them, the orb seemed to become part of the scissors, flying into them and disappearing. The scissors now glowed blue, and flew out of the box and towards Hans. Anna screamed as they plunged into Hans's torso. Frozen with shock, Hans felt no pain. He felt nothing, actually, but a weird tingling sensation. Then it hit him; not pain, but relief. A big explosion of it that rushed through his veins and his muscles, down to his toes and fingertips and his nose, the feeling of power and heat and strength. Soon it was too much and, before Hans could scream or do much else, it was gone. Hans blinked rapidly and looked around, again feeling nothing, nothing but numbness and confusion and a weakness in his knees.

Hans turned to Anna, who was staring in horror.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" She squealed. Hans blinked slowly and leaned on all fours, slowly pushing himself up. He patted his chest and his arms and hips.

"I have no idea. There was this surge and i was all warm and..." Hans couldn't finish. He suddenly gagged, and a raging warmth zapped through him. Before he could figure out an idea of what was going on, Hans burst into flames.


	31. Fire

"AHHH!" Anna screeched and fell back, scooting away rapidly from the flaming man in front of her.

"AHHH!" Hans screeched, looking at his hands under the flames. Just as quickly as they'd come, they went. Hans felt warm all over, but also chilled to the bone. Anna was up against the hedge, hand on the knife at her hip, breathing like she'd just ran a mile.

"What WAS that?!"

"I-I don't know!" Hans's knees gave out on him and he fell to the ground. His clothes and hair were un-singed, but his skin felt soft and new. The callouses on his hands and feet were gone. As he inspected himself he noticed that his clothes had, in fact, changed to be cleaner, almost shiny. He didn't know what to make of it, and told Anna this. She looked him up and down fearfully a moment before approaching and bending down by the confused young man. She put the back of her hand to his forehead, which felt extremely cold.

"You're really warm." She frowned.

"You're freezing." Hans said before realizing that Anna's skin glistened in the sun from the sweat on her arms. She took his hands in hers.

"Am I still freezing?"

Hans nodded, furrowing his brow. "How hot am I?"

"Really, really hot." Anna kept touching his skin, wherever it was exposed. Through this somewhat awkward process they figured Hans's body temperature was immensely high and quickly exited the secret garden, across the castle grounds, and through the gates. Hans pulled his hood up when they went through the town and hopped on the ferry back to Arendelle Island with Anna. Soon as they reached it both bound out of the ferry and to the castle, where they first found Kristoff.

"Kristoff!" Anna smashed into him, though he caught her before she fell down and stood her up looking bewildered. "Anna, what's going on?!"

"Hans-fire-I-Magic-I-" Anna's words splattered out like spilled paint before she caught her breath and was able to, with Hans input, explain what had happened. Kristoff looked at Hans and poked him and then drew his hand back.

"You are really warm." Kristoff glanced over him.

"I know." Hans refrained from rolling his eyes. "Do you have any idea  _why_?"

"Nope." Kristoff shook his head, sighing. "I never read about what to do if you burst into flames after a pair of scissors stabs you. Or is absorbed into you or whatever happened...Grand Pabbie might know, but he's back in Arendelle..."

"What about Rowen?" Anna proposed, looking up at Kristoff.

"She might know something," Kristoff agreed, scratching his cheek thoughtfully. "She did mention that Serpentine taught her a lot before she ran off to be evil or whatever."

"Where is she?" Hans asked, finally removing his cloak, folding it as he spoke.

"Out back with Dai." Kristoff gestured with a tilt of his head. Hans ran off in that direction, weaving through the semi-familiar castle and coming out the back, finding Rowen leaning against a large oak tree, casually peeling an orange while watching Dai climb the mighty branches of the tree. Hans breathed deeply so he didn't look rushed and strode across the grass to her. Rowen looked up when he came to her side and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Hans." She said, tossing the orange peel to the side.

"Rowen." He nodded. "I need your help."

"Shoot." She said, splitting the orange in half while watching Dai hang down from his knees from a branch before pulling himself back up. Hans explained what had occurred earlier in detail, drawing more and more of Rowen's attention as he spoke. By the end, she'd made sure Dai stayed in one spot on the tree so she could listen better. She stood and grabbed Hans's hand, eyes widening immediately.

"Y-You're like her, y-you..." She paused and breathed deeply. "Dai, get down from the tree."

Dai did so quickly, sliding down the inclined trunk and then hopping to his mother's side. She let go of Hans and knelt down to his level. "Be a darling and get momma her kit, alright?"

Dai blinked but nodded and scurried off without a word. Rowen didn't rise but jerked Hans down with her so they were both sitting on their knees in the grass. Hans quietly wondered what in blue blazes Rowen was doing, but let her continue. Dai returned with a carpet bag with a poppy flower on it and handed it to his mother.

"I was told you didn't join that organization?" Hans raised an eyebrow.

"It was a gift from my mother before she even asked if I wanted to join." Rowen said, unclasping the bag. A puff of red dust came out and she waved it away, reaching in. She pulled out a glove and put it on, then looked at Hans and placed the gloved hand on his chest. She paused a moment, then moved her hand down to his stomach (which Hans found rather invasive) and then, without warning, pushed her hand forward  _into_ Hans. He was shocked, to say the least, but it wasn't painful. Though, he couldn't breath, but that was probably because he was too startled, too. Dai just stared as if this was perfectly insane but he didn't know the appropriate reaction. Rowen seemed to wiggle her hand around in Hans for awhile, before pulling her hand out, holding the scissors. She inspected them and then put them in the bag with her glove and looked at Hans.

"Those scissors cut your bind." She said.

"My what?"

"You didn't know?"

"Nooooo."

Rowen blinked and then closed her bag. "You had a binding on you, keeping your powers contained so you couldn't use them."

"My what?" Hans felt like a complete idiot.

"You have powers, Hans, like Elsa. Only yours are definitively fire, and everything to do with it." Hans blinked. It took him a moment to let it sink in and get untangled in his brain. He looked at his rejuvenated skin and poked his palm, realizing just how warm his skin was, parallel to Elsa's. Swallowing deeply, Hans reached his hand out, away from anyone or anything, and then fire shot from his palm. He jumped, stunned, and then did it again. He did this several times, angling his palm several ways, changing the intensity of the flame. He turned to Rowen, who was watching with great interest.

"Impressive." She said.

"This feels oddly liberating." Hans said. He then curiously kicked at the air. Fire flew from his foot. When he placed it back on the grass, he realized that he'd burned a hole in his boot. He then removed his shoes and basically started fooling around with his powers, firing them with his hands and feet. He managed to set himself aflame in such a way that he didn't entirely burn all his clothes off. Entirely. He managed to keep most his pants, though his shirt was obliterated.

"Done?" Rowen asked. Hans paused and then attempted breathing fire, which worked remarkably well and left a smokey taste in his mouth. He turned to Rowen.

"Alright, now I'm done."

"Good." Rowen stood.

"So, how exactly did I end up with these?" Hans finally asked the question most people have when they first discover they have sudden elemental powers.

"I think it might be hereditary, or chance. It isn't a curse; like Elsa, it lives inside you, your blood, your soul. I do know that the binding was put on you by a witch or wizard, and a very powerful one at that. Probably at a young age, before you could really remember. Those scissors were magical and cut it."

Hans nodded slowly, letting things fall into place and untangle in his mind. "Father must have had it done. My mother never told me, but she is the one who led me to the garden and the scissors."

"Mhm." Rowen nodded. "I'm surprised it didn't break. Seems you've got a lot of power...you'll have to learn to control it."

"I'm feeling pretty good about it right now." Hans found himself saying.

"I can understand that, I'm just saying you should keep practicing like you were. Away from trees. And grass. And houses-basically anything flammable." She advised. Hans nodded. Then something clicked and, in his sudden excitement, Hans set the grass on fire.

After a moment of panic which resulted in more patches of burned grass and a lot of stomping from both Hans and Rowen, Hans breathed deeply and then grinned as it hit him again and looked at Rowen.

"I think I know how to save Elsa."

* * *

Hans, Kristoff, Anna and Rowen were all gathered in the library of the castle. Hans hadn't even changed into full clothes before calling the meeting and was only clad in pants burned up to the knees and a shirt he hadn't even buttoned. Anna and Kristoff both gave him odd looks about it. Hans then explained what had happened with Rowen and voiced his idea;

"I think I can melt Elsa," he said. "I think when Grand Pabbie said he saw something in me that he couldn't quite put his finger on, it was this, and I think this is something that could save Elsa."

"'This'? You mean your...powers?" Kristoff asked, raising a rather disbelieving eyebrow.

"Yes, these powers." Hans nodded. "I mean, I have barely any idea how they work, but I think I could use them to melt El-"

"But nothing melts Elsa, we tried everything. Even a bonfire." Anna frowned, glancing at Kristoff.

"Look, remember what Grand Pabbie said? We  _can_  melt her. It just has to be emtional-anger, sorrow, whatever. It-" _  
_

"But Rowen couldn't." Anna said. Rowen breathed deeply but didn't comment.

"If you'd let me finish," Hans slightly muttered in agitation, "It can be any emotion-any emotion at all. And fire. Lots of fire. Rowen didn't use that much fire-she couldn't. She's not good at fire spells, she's not an elemental witch, she's a healing witch. She doesn't have the experience-and, hey, I'm not saying I'm experienced, but I burned a hole in the ground in the back yard."

"He did." Rowen confirmed. Anna and Kristoff looked both amused and unconvinced.

"I've got  _power_. Not in a narcissistic sense, but more practical. I can feel it. It's weird but I can feel it and I could use it. I mean-I mean it is at least worth the try. Trying won't kill anyone. It'll probably save someone. Elsa. It could melt Elsa and then maybe Arendelle with it. Everyone could go back. I mean, we all just got here, but the sooner back home, the better."

Slowly, Anna nodded. She seemed to see it, Hans's emotion. His passion, or love, or whatever she perceived it as, for Elsa. Kristoff, too, eventually crossed his arms and nodded.

"Yeah, ok." He said. "It couldn't hurt to try."

Hans grinned excitedly. Fire spurted a bit from his feet and the group had to quickly stomp it out.

"But you'll have to learn how to control that a bit better." Anna said, biting her lip. "If you get too emotional on the ship you'll burn it down and drown."

"R-right." Hans nodded, mood a bit dampened by the realization that they couldn't leave tomorrow. "But soon as I stop burning holes in everything, we're going."

"Of course." Anna nodded, grinning a bit. Hans smiled and then without a word to the others ran off. Down the hall, to the right, through the kitchen and out the back door. He skirted to a small cliff and slid down its sandy side to the beach where there was no grass or wood or anything else flammable and plenty of water. If he was going to melt Elsa, he had to learn to control these powers, and learn fast.


	32. Thawed

It was a month before Hans stood on the ship heading to Arendelle. In that month he'd trained each and every day. He'd practiced with his powers, learning how to control them from the inside out, controlling his heartbeat, his nerves, the spurts that came when he flinched or flexed his fingers wrong. He beat himself up almost as much as he beat up the steel plates he'd spend hours punching and firing at. After several practice runs in cheap sailboats' around the perimeter of Arendelle Island, Hans, Anna, Kristoff and Rowen had all collectively decided they could take him on the days sail to Arendelle.

Now, he stood at the bow of the ship, watching the sleek bow slice through the water like butter. The light rush of the blue liquid rushing past the wood was comforting and welcoming to the young man, who'd missed time out on the water. He breathed, his muscular chest rising and falling with it. He leaned over the edge of the ship, sore elbows resting on the railing. He'd left his training far more muscular than he'd ever been, even when doing the hard labor around the castle in Arendelle. It'd been a direct result of punching walls and running through the forest on the island to release excess energy. He didn't complain.

"You ready for this?" Anna appeared at Hans side. Hans turned his head to her. The young woman had matured greatly in the months since Elsa's icy imprisonment. Her face wasn't as soft as it once had been, gaining some curve and edge to it. Her eyes still sparkled brightly, holding a slightly dulled zest for life they always had. But, overall, she aired the presence of an adult in build and posture; attitude and ability. She'd had to learn it, technically being the queen for the moment being. But she was still Anna, and that's what made Hans smiled.

"Absolutely not." He said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to give it my all."

"You've gotten more blunt as time goes by." She commented, leaning her hip against the railing.

"It seems to benefit me more than hinder." He said.

Anna nodded in agreement and breathed deeply before wringing her hands. "You really think this'll work?" She asked quietly. She looked at him with hope tinged eyes, her shoulders drooping tiredly. He knew she'd spent many nights sleepless and many days sad. She missed Elsa more than anything. She was her only family she had left. Hans slowly slid his hand over and grabbed hers. It wasn't anything more than friendly or reassuring, and both seemed to sense that when she turned her head towards him.

"I promise, Anna," he started, "that I'll do whatever it takes to bring Elsa back. I promise that I won't rest until she's up and walking again. I won't even  _think_ of quitting, ever, because I can't stand the thought of her spending another minute in that courtyard as a statue."

Anna stared at him for a moment before grabbing him in a tight hug, smacking her forehead down on his shoulder. "T-Thank you." She muttered. "T-thank y-you."

* * *

Hans stared at Elsa's frozen body. Behind him was the usual crew and Grand Pabbie. The boulder had aged, new cracks and crevices appearing on his grainy surface. They had to ice skate to the Valley to get him. Everything was covered in such thick globs of ice that it resembled a cartoon. The only thing that wasn't cartoonish was Elsa. Still falling, still staring up at the sky with inhuman fear, and still grabbing for the air as if it might save her. Still a stark symbol of Hans's nightmares.

Slowly, the young man approached the frozen woman, and slowly he took a stance about a foot away from her. He looked at the group of people in front of him; Anna, Kristoff, Rowen, and Grand Pabbie. All of them loved Elsa. All of them wanted her back. All of them cared, all of them hurt, all of them feared. All of them hoped, hoped that it would work, and hoped that Hans would be the answer so they could finally end their sleepless nights.

It was these feelings and his own; hope, fear, sorrow and love, that collectively fueled Hans. He could feel his toes warming. It was traveling up his legs, a blush was at his cheeks. When he breathed out, there was so much steam he couldn't see in front of him. The heat reached his fingertips and they twitched. He made a fist with his palms and then rubbed them together, sparks of fire leaping upward. Then he parted them, pointed directly at Elsa, and mentally crossed his fingers before letting loose an unholy flame. It was so hot the others had to back away to the gate. Hans focused on the flames and noticed waves of color passed through the flames as he directed them upon Elsa's frozen form. Pinks, blues, greens. Violet and chartreuse. Vivid and bright and wonderful. Through the flames Hans could see Elsa, who radiated these colors in flashes. Soon enough the flashes ceased and Elsa became a bright red. Hans wanted to stop, but he felt like he shouldn't. Then, a crack.

Right above her nose a crack was forming. Quickly it traveled, down her cheek and her hair, around her neck and torso, slithering like a snake and spawning more cracks from it. Eventually she looked like a broken doll ready to burst.

Then she did.

The sound was cataclysmic and punched Hans back into the wall of the castle. It smacked the others on the ground and made them slide like hokey pucks. A cloud of ice that resembled smoke billowed around the scene, obscuring the vision of the bystanders. Hans moved his arm in front of his face and peeked over it as wind slowly made the ice dissipate. In the middle of white scorch marks was Elsa, laying on the ground like a ragdoll. Hans quickly overcame his shock and slid over to her on his knees. He slipped an arm under her shoulders and lifted her up. Her head flopped toward him. Her eyes were closed and her skin was soft and cool looking. Her mouth was slightly open as if she was asleep.

The others gathered around, looking at her eagerly. When she didn't move or wake, their faces furrowed in confusion. Anna put out a shaking hand and touched her skin.

"She's ice cold." She said, frowning. "Colder than cold."

"But she's not frozen," Rowen said hopefully, "Maybe she's just...uh...uh..."

While Rowen was trying to find a word that best described what Elsa was doing, Hans put his hand on her cheek. He didn't think about it, but the other's did. They had little to no knowledge of the kiss on the boat, or the awkward flirtation outside the gates. They didn't know what had been driving Hans crazy, what had truly driven his passion. And they wouldn't have, had his hot but gentle touch not graced Elsa's cheek. For when it did, her eyelids slowly opened staring up blankly at Hans.

He almost jumped. "E-Elsa?"

The eyes closed and opened gracefully. She turned her head around, looking at everything, taking it in. Everyone was silent. They didn't know what to do besides watch. Elsa hadn't moved in months, and now she was. She opened and closed her hands and blinked more, seeming to register, seeming to remember. She then leaned forward independently and moved her arms and legs, making sure all the joints worked. When she was done registering everything, Elsa's head darted between Hans and Anna, then Kristoff, then Rowen. Her hands flew to her chest and she patted around it. She looked down and her mouth made a small 'o'. Then she teared up, small, happy tears. She flung out both arms, catching Anna and Hans around the shoulders and tugging them down into a tight hug.

"T-Thank you." She murmured, tightening her grip around their shoulders.

Anna sniffed and wrapped her arms around her sister. "Elsa! You're alive!"

Hans paused for a moment as Elsa encased Anna in her embrace, hugging her head more than anything as it rested on her chest. As this happened he could feel himself lowering to the ground. He looked down to see the ice slowly melting. He was stunned, mouth hanging open as the cobblestone of the front courtyard became visible again, clean as the summer's day it'd been covered. The melting traveled, gaining momentum quickly as it striped itself from the walls and floors of the courtyard. It wrapped around light posts and summer flowers, towers and roofs, grass and trees. Everything, everything one at a time but all at once, was being uncovered in a spectacular show of sparkling ice water. The water level rose and the river rushed so soundly it could be heard over the mountains.

Tears of joy were shed by all as there was a impromptu group hug. It was awkward and a bit cramped, but no one really minded. They were all just thanking the Lord that she wasn't a frozen block of ice anymore. When they all parted and they'd managed to bring Elsa to her feet, the young woman turned to her sister and lightly put a hand on her arm.

"What happened?" She asked. "I can't remember anything before waking up-well, besides getting shot and freezing. But other than that."

Anna smiled. First at her, then at Hans, which seemed to shock Elsa. "Hans un-froze you."

Elsa turned her head to Hans and then Anna. "What?"

"Hans kind of has fire powers. Like you, but...but fire. Boom boom."

Anna made little hand gestures to better illustrate her blunt description. Elsa still, quite frankly, couldn't believe it, until Hans snapped his fingers and showed her his alighted hand. Once seeing this Elsa's face was a mixture of surprise and absolute delight as she hugged Hans. Hidden behind the mess of their hair, Elsa gently kissed the back of Hans's jaw. Hans impulsively gave out a ridiculous smile that gained curious looks from everyone but Anna, who was smirking. Elsa quietly giggled.

She went over and hugged Kristoff, who smiled, and then gently turned to Rowen and hugged her as well. Rowen breathed deeply and hugged her back before grinning and laughing, picking her up momentarily before putting her down. Everyone laughed at Elsa's squeal and then slowly exited the courtyard.

* * *

Elsa could breathe again, and it was wonderful. She'd been put to sleep to the sound of a gunshot and screaming, to unbearable pain in her chest and the doom of crackling ice crawling over her skin. She'd left thinking that was it; she'd never see Anna again, or Rowen, or Kirstoff...or Hans. Then she'd come back. From what felt like a deep sleep she rose to warmth and relief. She remembered becoming aware of the ground beneath her, cold and hard. Then gentle hands lifting her up. Stark silence ringed in her ears and she felt her head flop, though she couldn't quite move it. Then sound intruded. Breathing, scuffles. Words that sounded like they traveled on ocean waves. She could open her eyes. She could look, and see. She figured who was who, what was what and from there had felt utter peace.

The peace continued when they walked down the bridge that connected Arendelle castle to the town square. Through the walk, observing the silent trees and the equally silent village, Elsa listened and learned of everything that had occurred during her "hibernation". From the freezing of Arendelle to the migration to the Southern Isles and Anna and Hans's discovery at the castle. She listened to everything with a finely tuned ear and her arm linked with Anna's, who was doing most the chattering. Though she felt guilty and slightly ill in her stomach, Elsa didn't panic. She didn't feel a wave of anxiety attack her chest and shoulders, her stomach wasn't rolling like a river of nausea, and her fingertips didn't feel the sort of cold they did when they were going to let out a spark of ice. She felt refreshed and anew; level-headed in a way she'd never been before, and it was wonderful.

There was a time period where the group discussed what to do; how to present Elsa to the townspeople, how to bring them back to Arendelle, pay off the small country's debts gathered from receiving support from other countries. They reached decisions and found solutions in a reasonably short amount of time and then went to the ship and cracked open a couple bottles of champagne to celebrate. The night consisted of laughter and light spirits. Everyone smiled and exchanged stories and jokes, hopes for a bright future now that Elsa had been released from her icy cage.

As the night waned on Elsa gently placed a hand on Anna's arm and stood up. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Anna looked up at her curiously. Elsa smiled, thinking how mature she looked now.

"Just out on the deck for some fresh air."

Elsa reassured her sister. She took her half finished glass of champagne and traveled to the deck. She stopped at the entrance to the galley and breathed in the salty ocean air. Her heels made a light clacking sound as she went across the wood to the bow. She leaned against the railing and inhaled deeply, holding the rim of the champagne glass in her fingertips. The lack of animal life gave a resounding silence. It made the still water sound like a rushing river, the rustling of leaves and pine was almost a dull roar, and the overall effect made Elsa's ears ring slightly.

"Odd, isn't it?"

Elsa nearly jumped and turned her head. Hans stood a couple yards away, thumbs in his pockets. He was wearing the red cloak Elsa remembered Mrs. Nork had made him. Her lips swept up into a smile quickly. "The quiet?"

"Yeah." Hans nodded, walking over to her, stopping at her side and leaning his hip against the railing. "I don't think I've ever heard such calm."

"Oh, well," Elsa turned her head out to the ocean, watching the reflection of the moon on the rippling waves. "I guess you could say that. I hear more relief than calm. I think everything is glad it isn't frozen over anymore."

Hans chuckled. "That's probably a better description, yeah."

They were quiet a moment. Hans's last words almost echoed in the stillness. Elsa brought her champagne up into her hand and then sipped it. "Thank you for saving me."

"Oh, uh, no problem."

The couple chuckled awkwardly. Elsa scooted a bit closer to Hans and then looked up at him. "Hans...are...are we..."

"Are we what, Elsa?" He cocked his head to the side. Elsa paused, rubbing the base of her champagne glass with her pinky finger.

"Are we a...are we a thing? I mean..."

"Are we dating? I don't know, are we?" He smiled a bit and leaned his back on the railing. "It's been a few months since we kissed."

"Well, maybe I could actually hit your mouth if we had some practice." Elsa said slyly, smirking over the top of her champagne glass. Hans returned the look and leaned in close to her.

"Arendelle still isn't really fond of me." He said.

"Well, I am." Elsa stated. "And I think telling them how you heroically aided in the de-freezing of their queen might warm them up a bit."

"Maybe." He agreed. Elsa set her glass on a nearby barrel. She slipped a hand up on his shoulder and let the other find its way to his chest.

"Are we making an agreement here?" She smiled in a way she hoped was flirtatious. She didn't think she had much a handle on the flirting thing yet, though she wouldn't mind practice.

"An agreement to what? Kissing or dating?"

"I'd like to do both."

"I can agree to that."

Elsa smiled and let Hans slip his hands around her waist and pull her close. She leaned into him, tilting her head slightly to the side, her graceful fingers finding strands of his hair to fiddle with. "Let's seal the deal."

"With what?"

"Take a guess, dear."

Elsa smirked and tapped his lower lip. The young man blinked, then grinned a bit foolishly. The two stepped closer to one another, tightening their grips around each other, hands gently but firmly feeling the fabric of their clothing. Then, Elsa leaned forward and kissed him, making perfect contact with both his lips. They parted, and smiled.

The deal was made.


	33. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for supporting this story, commenting, the kudos. It all means very much to see a different audience like the story. I hope to entertain you again with a different story in the future, but for now I bid you farewell, and hope this finally is enough to satisfy. 
> 
> Have a wonderful day/evening. :)
> 
> -Kitty M. Smith

Hans smiled. He crinkled his bare feet around the ground, gripping the lush, green grass with his toes and tugging it out of the ground. Across from him, at the other side of the clearing, was Dai. The child had grown several inches in the last four years, becoming a bit tall for his age of 8. His hair had darkened slightly and swept around his eyes and ears in confused chunks that didn't know whether they wanted to be wavy or curly. He was looking at his mother as she knelt beside him, giving him a bit of a pep talk. He'd just started magic training, prompted by his mother. Today they were practicing combat. He was to use defense spells his mother had taught him to block blasts of fire Hans would throw at him. Hans planned to make them very small and weak for the nervous youth's sake.

"Hans won't be harsh, love."

Rowen smiled at her son and then stood. Having calmed over the years, she now spent most her time in loose pants and shirts with badges on the shoulders. Elsa had put Rowen in charge of training the guards and the small military force Arendelle possessed. She was also Elsa's adviser and wore a uniform when she attended meetings with her.

"Ok Momma." Dai bit his lip and turned towards Hans, wringing his hands.

"Ready?" Hans asked.

Dai timidly nodded and then set his brow and took a determined stance. Hans refrained from chuckling, less Dai loose his spontaneous confidence, and punched out a ball of flame. Dai quickly mumbled an incantation and threw out his hand. The fire hit an invisible force, rolled like it was in a bowl, and then vanished.

"Good!"

Hans grinned and fired again. Dai blocked it with his other hand. Hans fired two and Dai blocked both. The boy grinned widely and bounced. Hans glanced to Rowen with a questioning look, and she nodded. Hans took both hands and blasted out a spout of fire. Dai jumped back in surprise a moment before throwing out both hands and deflecting the streams of fire. He stared in amazement at his feat as his mother clapped, but Hans didn't let him stare too long before firing more. Dai jumped up and blocked. Hans began giving him a harder time, giving him three blasts of fire instead of two, or one long blast that challenged Dai's ability to hold a shield. He didn't do anything too hard, but he did give the boy a challenge.

"Alright, you two." Rowen stepped in between them, waving her arm as fire spiraled toward her. It burnt out inches from her face. "I've got to get back to work, and there isn't a snowball's chance in hell I'm letting you practice alone."

"Aw, but Momma!" Dai stuck out his lower lip and let his shoulders droop.

"You can practice more tomorrow, Dai." Rowen patted his head and slid her hand down to his shoulder, turning her head to Hans. "Besides, I know Hans has things he has to attend to as well. Like his coronation rehearsal with his wife." She gave the young man a very pointed look, and he smiled back sheepishly.

"Right, right." He slung his shirt over his shoulders and buttoned it quickly. "Do you know where she is?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Nope."

"Well no, I don't, actually. I assumed you would know since it's  _your_ rehearsal."

Hans shrugged and ruffled Dai's hair. "I'll figure it out. See you later, Rowen."

"See you later."

Hans waved at the mother and son and then turned around, heading out of the forest. The summer air felt lazy and calm; it effected the rest of the forest, who's tree leaves blew gently in the breeze and animals made small little chatters of idle conversation. The ground was warm and soft, the creek trickled gently with no pressing matters forcing it to go faster. The overall placidity had an easing effect on Hans. He was nervous. Beyond nervous. He'd agreed to help Dai train today in hopes that he could avoid the rehearsal, postpone it until the next day, or week. Or year.

It was a never ending source of anxiety for the king-to-be. Since he and Elsa had married two years prior he knew it was coming. He knew, eventually, he'd have to step up and take the throne beside the lovely queen. What he had always wanted, what Hans had made his life goal from the time he was a little boy until he nearly killed the woman he now called his wife, and the woman he now called his sister-in-law. That day-that year, really- had all been one big calamity. A giant, violent, epiphany that smacked all the little bits of Hans's ambition clouded brain back into place. And, after discovering himself again, he'd wanted nothing more than to  _not_  be king. He was terrified of being king, especially over Arendelle. He thought somehow it would twist his mind again; that he'd become mad with power and not be able to fix it; he'd loose Elsa and Anna and everyone he'd come to care for. He couldn't afford that.

Of course, he didn't let Elsa know about this. Actually, the only two people who knew he had any reservations about becoming king was Anna and Rowen. Anna knew he was a bit bothered by it, but Rowen knew the full story. She knew he'd woken up in the night due to nightmares, slipped out of bed, and padded down to the library to read until he was too tired to keep his eyes open. She knew he drank stronger-than-strong coffee to keep himself up during those consecutive days of little sleep and much activity, and she knew that his biggest fear other than becoming king was that Elsa find out.

When he entered the castle, Hans was jarred from his anxious thoughts by two little hands smacking onto his pant leg. He looked down and smiled upon seeing his nephew. The boy had russet red hair and brown eyes, and more freckles than seemed humanly possible to fit on such cute little cheeks. His name was Kristoffer. Anna had meant it as a joke when the child was born, but after looking at him, she decided the name actually fit quite well and made it official. Kristoff, to give the child some sort of saving grace in his mind, gave him the middle name Boone, which is what everyone but Anna tended to call him.

"Hey buddy, where's your mama, huh?" Hans picked him up and bounced him slightly. The toddler cooed in response.

"His mama is right here." Came Anna's relieved voice. She jogged up to Hans and seized her offspring, tapping his nose. "Naughty little boy ran away from Nana Fanny."

"She's here already?" Hans inwardly groaned. The woman had pestered him and Elsa to have children since the wedding, and continued to mention it every single time they came in contact.

"She's been here since yesterday, Hans." Anna smirked. "Trying to find you. Said something about the "joys of procreating" and a special herbal tea that helps with it."

"The woman is mad for great grandchildren."

"Not mad, dearie, absolutely insane." Nana fanny said, coming out of the hall. Her Chinese style robes trailed after her, the silk trail picking up whatever dust particles had previously settled there. "There really is  _so_  much good with the creation of babies! I mean, making the baby is the fun part, but-"

"Nana!" Anna stared at her grandmother in disbelief, mouth ajar.

Nana Fanny blinked and looked at her. "What? Like you can disagree with that little bundle." She pointed to Boone, who seemed glad to have the attention. "If it wasn't fun I don't see why you married the fellow. Well, he is quite nice, but really, personality only goes so far-"

"Fanny, please tell me you're highly intoxicated." Hans interjected, nearly retching.

"It's an idea. Did you know alcohol leads to babies? I think you and Elsa should try drinking a couple bottles of wine and-"

"Do you know where Elsa is?" Hans swallowed hard to keep from yelling at the old bat.

"Uh, hiding from me, I think." Nana Fanny looked around, tapping her rouge lips with one long, manicured nail. "I'd try the library. Or that one up in the tower. She always goes there; still such an unsocial girl, you know. I think she should work on that. Love her to bits, but-"

"Thanks." Hans cut her off, shooting Anna an apologetic look before abandoning her and traveling down the castle halls to the tower library that Elsa often escaped too. He climbed the stairs, briefly thinking of his room on the other side of the castle. They'd refitted it, giving it a rather lovely bed and closet, as well as a vanity and wash basin. It was used as a guest room, now. Hans knocked at the door when he reached the top of the stairs.

"Nana, my womb is perfectly happy being empty." Elsa called.

"It's me, the one who is perfectly find with the lack of occupation in your womb." Hans said.

"Oh, Hans!" Elsa sounded immediately cheerful. "Come in, honey."

Hans entered, smiling at his wife. She was reclined in a large leather chair, books in haphazard stacks around her. Papers with notes stuck out of them at various angels, and small trinkets lined the windowsill and other surfaces. A bird that stuck its beak in water, a set of steel balls that perpetually swung back and fourth, powered by the vibrations traveling through their brethren. Prisms that cast rainbows on the floor and dream-catchers that turned gently where they hung from the ceiling. Pictures and bottles and statuettes. Each one from a different place; France, New Orleans, Spain, Italy, China, and more. All of them marked somewhere Elsa had sailed with Hans since their marriage. They were all fond memories, and Hans smiled at them.

"Where have you been?" Elsa asked, patting the footrest in front of her. Hans took his seat.

"Out helping Dai train. He's getting pretty good at his shields." Hans scooted his seat up to Elsa's chair so that he could lean on her armrest. Elsa patted his hand.

"It's good you helped him. But we have work to do, you know." She chided lightly, smiling. Elsa had changed over the years. She was still Elsa; shy and strong, patient, elegant, capable and sassy when she wanted to be. But she'd also become far more confident, and even more so soft spoken. There was something about the way she spoke that was more captivating than ever; she drew everyone towards her with her smooth, clear words and silk soft edges to each one spoken. She was well respected by many world leaders, and watched over her country with caution and care.

"I know." Hans smiled sheepishly. "How much is planned?"

"Nearly all of it. We just need to finish up what will be served at the after party, and the tailor needs to fit you for your clothes."

Hans listened quietly and nodded. Elsa continued, speaking about some other minor details and elements to the party and the ceremony. She didn't talk about them with much enthusiasm; but then again, she'd never been a party person. She did, however, get a bit of a twinkle in her eye when she started talking about Hans being king. She was excited about it, and he knew. Him agreeing to be king was a step in their relationship; they would be united as both lovers and rulers. Something Hans knew Elsa had wanted since before their wedding day. Eventually Elsa stopped talking and looked straight into Hans's eyes.

"You don't want to do this." She said without warning. It was given more as a fact than a question. "You don't want to become king."

Hans was quick to defend his years old semi-secret. "Of course I do, Elsa. I love Arendelle, and you. I'm just a little nervous is al-"

"I know you go to the library during the night." She interrupted, glancing at the books around her. "I know you can't sleep. I didn't know why, and I didn't say anything because I know you don't like me fussing too much but...that's it. You don't want to become king-you-you never have, have you? All this time..." She stood up. Hans tried to say something as he followed, but she wouldn't let him. "All this time you've just been...pretending. Why, Hans? For me? Anna, someone else? Arendelle? Why don't you want to-are you afraid the people won't like you? They love you! You've gained their trust, their admiration-praise and love and-they think you're  _great_ Hans! Word never stops on when you'll take the throne with me; everyone has been waiting for two years!" _  
_

Her hair, which was currently down, seemed ruffled. She waved her hands around as she spoke and her cheeks were hot looking as her flustered brow remained creased. It came crashing down on Hans that Elsa had suspected this for awhile; perhaps since he'd said he thought they should wait before he became king. That they should just have the wedding, make it simple. Maybe it was him suggesting a new trip to somewhere nearly every time she proposed planning the ceremony. Maybe it was the nights she apparently knew he was sneaking off to the library. The nervousness, the avoiding of the conversations. Looking back, Hans realized he could have been far more stealthy. He'd been oblivious to her inner suffering as she bit her lip and tried not to express her concern. She'd concealed the frustration and doubt so well...

Hans reached out his arms and put them on Elsa's shoulders, twirling her around to face him. Though he wouldn't have said it out loud, he kept his hands on her shoulders to keep himself upright. He thought if he let go, his knees might give way. "Elsa, darling...darling..."

Why was he so out of breath? He moved his hands down her arms, hoping her icy sleeves would mask the heat pulsing through them.

"I'm so, so sorry. It's...I'm scared, alright." The word felt like copper in his mouth.  _Scared_. It was so...weak. "All I ever wanted was to become king, and that...that's what nearly cost me you. What nearly cost me...me everything..." His voice grew quiet as he continued. "I don't want that to happen again. I don't know what it is..or was. It took me over, the lust for power. It took all those days working in the grounds, wandering around alone surrounded by people who hated me and weren't afraid to say exactly why...that's what broke me of it, that and you."

He forced himself to stand straighter. He looked down at Elsa, and she frowned up at him.

"I don't want to go back to that, Elsa. I know it's...it's stupid, and maybe a bit crazy, but I just think somehow having...the title, the official power...might...bring whatever  _that_ was, back." _  
_

The silence after that was unbearable and ringing. Hans's heart pounded in his ears as he came to terms with the truth: He was scared, and now Elsa knew.

It seems she didn't know what to do for awhile. She was thinking, and it made Hans worry. When she finally did react, she didn't speak. Instead she reached her hands up and put them on Hans's hot cheeks, standing on her toes as she pulled him down just a titch and kissed his forehead. Then she moved her arms around his shoulders and hugged him, pressing her head against his chest.

"Hans Westerguard," she began, tilting her head up. "You are the most brilliant, kindhearted man I know. You freed me when no one else could, and you've helped me realize I don't have to be scared of anyone anymore." She put her hands on his cheeks again, brushing her thumbs over his eyebrows and smiling gently. "And now I'm going to return the favor. I promise you don't have to be scared, and if you are...I'll always be there for you, like you've been for me." _  
_

Slowly, Hans smiled. He kissed Elsa and then leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, Elsa."

"I love you too, Hans."

* * *

The glass was red hot in his hand. He watched the water in it boil and then observed the glass slowly starting to melt in his fingers, sizzling as the water washed over the spaces that began forming. He went to the window and held his hand out of it, listening as the glass fell from the second story and seared through the leaves of bushes outside. He went back to the chair sat in front of the table at the wall and gazed up at the portrait of Elsa's father, holding the royal symbols in his hands.

"I can't do this." He whispered to himself, looking at the mock items on the table before him and the scorch marks on the table where he'd set the hot metal down. He couldn't. He'd turn, he'd burn the place down. He'd do something stupid.

"Hans?" A small hand was placed on his shoulder. If Elsa hadn't said anything first, he might have burned her.

"Yes dear?" He turned his head to her, breathing deeply. Elsa blinked slowly and walked around Hans, her dress trailing behind her. It was crimson and black, entirely made of ice, but it didn't look it. She'd gotten quite good at coloring her dresses. She bent down in front of Hans so she was looking up at his slightly slumped form. He wondered how she managed that in heels without tipping over.

"Are you alright?" Her voice was gentle and kind. Hans felt a little bit better.

"No." He sighed.

"I appreciate the bluntness."

Hans rose and turned away from his wife, lightly marching to the other side of the room and looking at the painting that had been added a few years ago: Elsa, looking nervous but brave, wearing her crown and holding the slightly frosted items in her hands. "Are you sure...I mean...should I really be doing this, Elsa? Is it...too late to-"

"Hans, the ceremony is within the hour. Yes it is too late to change your mind." She came over beside him and took his hand, looking at the painting as well. "I can't believe that was...what? Four, five years ago?"

"Six." Hans murmured.

"Six." Elsa breathed deeply. "Seems longer."

"Always does."

"It was hard getting used to that, having power. Being queen. Especially after I nearly destroyed my own kingdom. And the murder plot didn't help either."

"Heh, sorry dear."

Elsa wrapped her arm around his and patted his shoulder. "But even after everything was fixed, I was still scared out of my wits. Took few months before I sort of had a handle on things, and even then I didn't really know what I was doing. But I got better with time, and no one was affected to badly if I made a mistake. I was the first queen to figure things out on my own, without my parents to help teach me those last few years...but I didn't pretty good. And now we're all doing  _really_ good. Arendelle's never done better, not in a hundred years. And that's because I'm not alone on this." She smiled up at Hans. "I have you, Hans. And you have me. I know I can't tell you to just  _not_ be scared, but I can tell you I'm here, and if you need someone to keep you standing, then I will." _  
_

Hans looked at Elsa and realized that she was the strongest woman he'd ever had the pleasure of meeting, and the best wife the world could give. He kissed her and smiled when they parted, forehead to forehead. He didn't need to say thank you. He didn't need to say he loved her, he was thankful she was there. Because she knew, and now he knew that as he walked up the isle of the church, as the choir sang above the pews and the cardinal stood with the pillow that held the royal scepter and orb, he knew as he stood there holding the ceremonial pieces that he didn't have to be afraid, because he wasn't alone. He wouldn't be ruling alone.  _They_ would be ruling.

Together.

 


End file.
